Victim
by Tima
Summary: She lived the life of luxury with her husband, James, but he beats her. She turns to an unlikely friend for help to escape James. She moves to Forks, becomes Bella Swan & meets Edward Sleeping with the Enemy, Twilight style
1. A Loss

_**Welcome to my latest offering. I was beginning to see that most of my stories were lacking edge. So here is my attempt at edge. Enjoy! And as always, I won't beg for reviews. They are wonderful, but it gets tiring asking for reviews constantly. If you like, review! Deal? Ok, now let's get on with it. **_

**_Love, _**

**_Fatima_**

* * *

I've been on the run for nearly two years now. Two long, gruelling years of looking over my shoulder, listening for footsteps behind me, and moving across the continent. All in the hopes of escaping _him._

James.

My husband.

The man who sprained my wrist with sheer force the first time I didn't have his meal waiting for him on the table.

The man who threw me against a wall and gave me a concussion the night he even suspected that I was leaving him.

He was vicious, harsh, and cruel to no end. And I was married to him.

I asked myself countless times why I had subjected myself to his cruelty for the two years of hell we ridiculously called a marriage. And every time I remembered that he wasn't always an abusive bastard—he had been charming, understanding, and loyal when we first met. He had a jealous streak that, thinking back on it now, should have raised red flags for me. At the time, it was sweet to know he cared so much about me.

Well, hindsight is 20-20. I should have been stronger, wiser, and better able to withstand his threats of violence.

I should have reported him the first night he laid an unwanted hand on me. But always the fear of repercussions paralyzed me and made me stay.

I had moved to Boston from my hometown of Toronto, Ontario in order to attend UMass, and then return to Canada when I was done my degree, but fate had other plans and I was blinded by love when I met James. We became acquainted while I was working part-time at a coffee shop. He was one of my regulars, and I was instantly taken with him.

He was four years my senior, and attending Harvard Law School. He had an incredibly brilliant mind, so when he took notice of me, a simple Canadian girl with the dream of becoming a teacher, I was flattered beyond measure. He had shoulder length dirty blond hair, a slim but muscular physique, and a smile that would melt any heterosexual woman's heart within a 50 mile radius.

His charm and seeming helplessness without me kept me in the States indefinitely. When he proposed the week before my graduation, the deal was sealed and I informed my parents that I was staying in Boston. My mom, Renee was heartbroken, while my dad, Charlie, was furious that I had agreed to marry James. It was Charlie who was always suspicious of James.

Again, another red flag.

Charlie had always been a great judge of character.

Nonetheless, despite essentially crushing the two most important people in my life, I happily planned the wedding to the man who I thought loved me unconditionally. It was a quick courtship and an even quicker engagement. I had always promised myself that I would never rush into something as permanent as marriage. When it came to James, however, I broke my own pre-set rules with a smile on my face and a song in my heart. I was so easily fooled back then.

We settled in a suburb of Boston in a beautiful four thousand square foot house. After graduation, James had received numerous job offers from law firms across the country, but he wanted to remain in Boston. Once he received his first real pay check, he immediately decided that the lush life was the one for us, and set out to keep up the appearances of such a lifestyle. My life savings, all of it, went towards the down payment. It was the kind of purchase I was saving that money for anyway, so I willingly agreed because it was for our future.

I began working as an elementary school teacher. My students were in the first grade, and I fell in love with each and every one of them.

I was living my dream, married to a loving man who could provide for me, working my dream job as a teacher, and living in a gorgeous house.

But something changed a few months after we were married and settled into our house. To this day, that reason escapes me.

The first time he hit me, he apologised for hours, claiming how sorry he was, and calling himself all sorts of horrid names, none of which I believed he deserved at the time. After all, it was only once, and he was not like those wife beaters you hear about on the news. Besides, I deserved it, or at least I thought I did at the time. I had provoked him, and he had snapped. I convinced myself that this was a one-time incident that would never be duplicated. I forgave him and we went on living happily.

The first broken bone he caused me marked the definitive flip. After that, the slaps and the pushes and the punches became easier for him to cause without appearing even the slightest bit remorseful. He became a heartless bastard almost overnight. His surges of anger weren't triggered by substance abuse, like the typical episode of Maury Povich had led me to believe.

And he didn't allow our social life to change in any way because of his proclivity towards taking his anger out on me; we still kept up the lifestyle that came along with being a young and successful couple in Boston. We attended functions, private parties, social gatherings, and the like. To the outside world, we were the perfect couple. He made damn sure that he always appeared to be a gentleman with me while we were out keeping up appearances—opening doors, pulling out chairs, the customary public displays of affection.

No one suspected that when he was unhappy, his outer facade would disappear as if something had set him off; he just took it out on me.

Despite it all, there was a small part of me that still loved him, and I didn't want to see the life that we had created for ourselves destroyed because of his habit of striking me.

The final straw came when I found out I was pregnant.

He was the happiest I had ever seen him the day I came home from the doctor's appointment to tell him he was going to be a father. His smile was genuine; he actually hugged me and told me how excited he was. I believed that deep inside, he felt as if this child were the beginning of a new way of life for us. The optimist within me believed that he would change his ways because of this child. I wanted to give him something to be excited about, to be a better man for, and the baby was the best thing I could hope for, because over the next few months he was incredible. He never laid a hand on me, made sure I was well-rested, and even washed the dishes every so often. He was once again the man that I had married—the man I had fallen in love with almost two years earlier.

I was three months pregnant when it happened.

I was cleaning up around the house, and I bent down to pick up something I had dropped on the floor. As I stooped down, I felt a sudden stabbing pain in my abdomen. I cried out loudly and clutched my stomach, praying the pain would dissipate. James had come running with a look of fear in his eyes at the sound of my moans of pain. I remember looking down and seeing a pool of blood forming on the floor beneath me. The tears sprang from my eyes and James immediately picked me up and drove me to the hospital.

I was informed an hour later that I had miscarried. It was no one's fault. The doctor told me that there was a 'chromosomal abnormality', and the baby had simply stopped developing. Whatever the reason, my heart broke that day, and my soul ached for the child I would never hold or rock to sleep or care for. He or she was taken from me before I even had the chance to get comfortable with the idea of pregnancy.

James didn't take the doctor's news well, either. From outside of my hospital room, I could hear him yelling at the doctor. I could faintly hear James demanding to know what I could have done to prevent the loss, but I thought nothing of it. After all, the last few months had shown me that my old James was back, and we'd just try for another child. Even though I was crushed and would need time to mourn our first child, my James would help us both heal. I was sure of it.

When I was released from the hospital, James was silent the entire drive home. I had learned to read his movements like street signs. And this street sign warned me of trouble ahead.

He remained silent even after we stepped into the house. He walked behind me slowly, letting me go in ahead of him. I took off my coat and hung it up in the hallway closet. I heard him do the same behind me as I walked towards the stairs to go up to our bedroom. My head spun and I needed to lie down. I called to James that I was going upstairs to rest and began my trek up the flight of stairs.

Once my head hit the pillow, my tears began to flow. I wept for my lost child, I wept for a lost part of me that, though I might become pregnant again, would never be returned to me. Most of all, I wept for my relationship with James. It was holding such wonderful promise, and the baby that had been growing within me only a few days ago was a symbol of hope that I had been praying for every day since the first time he was violent. Now, I knew I was kidding myself to believe that, but at the time, I felt as if that child was a miracle that would strengthen the love we once had and solidify our commitment to each other.

How wrong I was.

I had cried myself to sleep, but woke to my hair being pulled and my entire body being yanked off of the bed where I once lay. I looked up and saw James glaring down at me furiously, nostrils flaring in anger. His breaths came in shallow pants.

"Get up, you bitch!" He screamed at me from where I had landed on the floor. James grabbed a handful of my hair and bent down to level his eyes with mine as he pulled my face to his. I yelped in pain and discomfort at the awkward position of my head.

"You can't even get having a baby right—something that should come naturally to you. Worthless," he stated.

"James," I began, lifting my hands up in surrender. "We can try again," I said, sounding more like begging than reasoning with him. In reality, however, even as those words escaped my lips, I instantly realized that I never wanted to doom a child to having a father like him. The words I had just used had been uttered to try to spare myself from his wrath.

He seemed to ponder the idea, because his hold on my hair seemed to slacken slightly. Relief overtook me and I sighed a little too loudly, bringing James out of his thoughts and returning his focus to me.

"You're a horrible liar, Marie. I know you. I know you inside and out. You are MINE." He pulled my hair once again, eliciting a moan of pain from me.

His voice grew quieter, and more menacing. "You'd better believe that we'll try again, because if you aren't good enough to have my son, you won't be worth having around anymore," he whispered, sending terrified shivers down my spine. I was unwilling to think about what he had insinuated by that comment, but I had a feeling I knew what he meant.

He yanked on my hair again, then let go suddenly, causing my face to crash to the ground without warning. I would definitely have a bruise there in the morning. Ruefully, I was glad I had stocked up on my concealer the last time I was at the cosmetics counter.

I watched from thefloor as James left our bedroom, going God knew where. I picked myself up from the floor and walked over calmly to the full-length mirror behind the bedroom door. My clothes were dishevelled, my hair was strewn this way and that, and the bruise that I suspected would show up the day after was already beginning to make its appearance. In addition to all that, my lip appeared to be slightly swollen from the contact with the ground. An angry tear escaped the corner of my eye.

How had I allowed myself to get to this point? Tip toeing around my husband, terrified of being in my own home—a house that I helped to pay off with my life savings. Not only was I devastated with the loss of my baby, but now I was faced with the pressure of trying again so soon afterward. There was no way I was willingly going to try to get pregnant again. It was physically unsafe.

I straightened up, smoothed down my hair as much as possible, and walked out of the room towards the bathroom to freshen up. I walked past the staircase when something caught my eye—James was standing in front of the bathroom door with a grimace on his face.

"Where the fuck do you think you're going?" He asked angrily.

"I need to splash some water on my face, James. Let me by," I said quietly, too tired to fight with him. His arm sprang forward and grabbed my right wrist—the wrist that he had sprained eight months earlier. I winced.

"What you _need _to do is take what's coming to you for killing my baby," his voice was calm, which was even scarier than when he yelled. For the second time in so many minutes, I was terrified of my husband.

"You know it wasn't my fault. I wanted that baby just as much as you did," _If not more_. "I'm devastated that our child is gone, but it wasn't my fault." The tears began to fall once again at the memory of the loss. I suspected this would happen every time the baby was mentioned—at least for a few months to come.

With that, James began pulling me toward the bedroom by the wrist forcefully. I tried to pull my wrist out of his grasp, but failed because he had chosen the right wrist—it caused me more pain to try to squirm out of his grasp than to be in it. He paused and stopped pulling me once we reached the top of the stairs.

"Let go of me, James. You can't keep taking your anger out on me," I begged wearily. He wasn't going to oblige, but at least I would ask before attempting once again to escape his hold on my wrist.

He inhaled deeply and released it. "Marie, you need to realize something. This house, and everything in this house, is my property. You are in this house, and that means I own you too. I can do whatever I want to my property. If I want to slap you around, Marie, I will do just that. Now," he yanked my wrist roughly towards him. My face was now inches from his. His gaze moved past me towards the stairs.

Everything that happened after that went in slow motion. I knew what he was planning, but could do nothing to prevent the outcome.

"If I want to teach you a lesson, _Marie_," he continued, putting emphasis on my name, but keeping the decibel level of his voice eerily calm. "I will do _just _that. If I want to do _this," _and just like that, I found myself tumbling down the stairs of my home, hitting the edges of the stairs as I went, breaking a few bones in the process. I didn't hear the rest of James' sentence because I blacked out before I reached the bottom of the stairs.

When I awoke, I was in a bright hospital room. A faint beeping noise sounded just to the left of my bed. As I slowly opened my eyes, desperately scared of who I would find there, I realized that it was much too quiet in this room for there to be anyone else there besides me. I opened my eyes completely and took in my surroundings. I was in a room much like the one I had just come home from only hours before my fall down the stairs. This depressed me to no end.

I ached all over. It was a dull pain, no doubt thanks to the pain killers coursing through my veins, but it hurt nonetheless. I surveyed the damage. The only real injury I could see was a broken left arm. Everything else must have been internal, because it sure felt like it was. I tested all of my appendages to ensure I wasn't paralyzed. Thankfully, everything moved and there was no lag in my response time.

I must have laid there for an hour before someone came into the room, and I thanked God it wasn't James.

A handsome, blond haired doctor who looked to be in his early forties came into my room holding a clipboard and smiling a dashing smile that would stop my heart if it wasn't already broken from everything that had happened today.

He continued smiling as he approached my bed. It turned into something else, however. It wasn't a happy smile; it was a smile full of pity and compassion.

"Hello Mrs. Huntington. My name is Dr. Cullen. How are you feeling?"

I cleared my throat and nodded. "Uh, I'm alright. Really sore, though," I rasped.

"Yes, that's to be expected. You fell down a few steps and thankfully, the damage isn't as bad as it could have been. You could have been paralyzed—or worse." He sounded extremely concerned for me. Internally, I was grateful that _someone _was.

"Do you remember anything about the events that caused your fall, Mrs. Huntington?"

Uh-oh. What should I tell him? Had James already made up a story about my fall? If my story was in any way dissimilar to his, I could wind up in serious trouble over raising even the slightest bit of suspicion.

I shook my head dramatically and spouted a simple: "No, I don't remember much about what happened."

Dr. Cullen didn't seem satisfied with this answer; his forehead creased in confusion.

"Hmm. Your husband says that you returned home from your most recent hospital stay after the miscarriage and you fainted while about to go down the stairs. Does that ring a bell?" He asked, in the nicest and most professional-sounding way possible, without sounding at all suspicious. My gut, however, told me that he had the whole incident completely figured out. There was a knowing look in his eyes I couldn't ignore.

"That's probably it," I replied weakly. "I just needed to rest and I guess I walked down the stairs too fast and lost my balance or something. I'm a big klutz. If you've seen my records, you'll see that I've been here a few times before," I justified with a small smile, trying to add a bit of humour to my situation. Dr. Cullen didn't take the bait. Instead, he nodded once, then walked back to the hospital room door and locked it. He then pulled up a chair beside the bed and leaned in, resting his elbows on his knees.

"Mrs. Huntington, I have reviewed your medical records. You've been hospitalized four times in the last few months before you became pregnant. The injuries are not consistent with the various explanations the hospital ER gets from your husband on your behalf," I was about to interject when he continued. "And there is no way my colleague checked you out while you were here a few hours ago and failed to mention that you had a swollen lip and a bruise on the side of your face. So I must ask you," he leaned in ever closer and sucked in a breath. "Please be honest with me, Mrs. Huntington. Is your husband violent with you?"

I was still. Silent tears fell down my face, but other than that, my emotional state was not betrayed by my expression. Dr. Cullen shook his head sadly and slowly.

"Please, Mrs. Huntington."

"Marie, if you don't mind," I requested. I couldn't stand him calling me Mrs. Huntington again, not within the context of this conversation.

"Marie," he corrected. "For your own safety, please tell me."

"I fell down the stairs, Dr. Cullen."

With a defeated look upon his face, he went to stand. "Marie, might I suggest that you stop this cycle before it continues, and protect yourself. Or, better yet, press charges and begin anew elsewhere."

A sob suddenly escaped my mouth and I threw my hands over my face, breaking down into tears. Just the doctor mentioning my running away terrified me.

Dr. Cullen sat back down and extended a hand towards mine.

"Marie, you have no need to be afraid. If you press charges against him, he'll never bother you again."

His expression was concerned, almost like a father would be towards his daughter. In the midst of this turmoil, I found myself internally grateful for his compassion. I wondered if he was like this with all his patients.

"He's one of the best and most reputable lawyers in the city. He has ties with all the law enforcement agencies in the region, and even with some of the not-so-nice guys he's defended. I would be dead if he ever got out and found me," I sobbed into my hands quietly, surprised that I could string that many words together without struggling. "Let alone what he would do to my parents in Toronto. He's already made threats against them if I left." Dr. Cullen's eyes grew wide at my words. He shook his head sadly and then seemed to think about what I said for a moment before answering in a confident but quiet voice, perhaps to make sure no one else would hear his forthcoming words.

"He isn't the only one with connections, Marie," he practically whispered, leaning closer to me.

My head jerked up and I stared into his eyes. What had he just said? What was he trying to imply?

"I'm sorry, what?" I began.

"Marie," Dr. Cullen started, leaning closer to me still and patting my hand. "Where there is a will, there is a way." He opened his mouth to continue, stopped, and paused for a moment. He gave a slight nod, as if he was decided upon what he was going to say, and continued. "I can help you, if you'll let me."

"Help me do what, Dr. Cullen?" At that point I was beyond baffled. I knew what he was implying, but I wanted him to spell it out for me so that when I was proven wrong, I didn't look like I was clinging to false hope.

"Escape this man, Marie. If you want, that is. The first step will be hard, but once you make it, you'll be on your way to a new life." Hope gleamed in his eyes.

"Are you serious?" I asked incredulously, sitting up straighter in the hospital bed. My eyes grew wider at the thought. Could he really be that well-connected that he could help me?

"I am, Marie," he said simply, his expression serious. I had absolutely no reason to distrust his gesture. But what of his motives?

"Why..." I started again.

Dr. Cullen sighed and ran a hand through his blond hair. "Because it is part of my Hippocratic oath."

"That oath has nothing in it about saving an abused woman from her psychotic husband."

He chuckled darkly at my words. "No, it doesn't. But I have to do everything in my power to help my patients, and you are one of my patients. Also, I have a son your age, so I feel as protective of you as I would be with him." His smile warmed my heart. He was being 100% genuine, and that made me feel like crying again.

"Thank you, Dr. Cullen." I began sobbing again, only it was a strange sob—a sob of hope, of overwhelming relief, even though I was still only ten minutes away from the house I shared with James.

"Marie, please call me Carlisle. And don't worry about a thing. We're keeping you here overnight for observation. We'll discuss the plan for your escape later this evening. I have some phone calls to make to prepare."

This was really going to happen. I was going to flee and never look back. Carlisle was going to help me.

He stood up and squeezed my hand. "Everything will be fine, dear. Rest for now. We'll talk soon."

As he left me alone in the room, the feeling of relief that swept through me moments earlier returned and consumed me. My smile was such that it hurt my face.

Somehow, I was going to escape him. Somehow, I was going to survive.

* * *

_**AN: **_

_**What did you think? Shall I continue? Don't worry, I am still keeping up with Submitting to Fate's Design. I look forward to hearing feedback about this one! Thanks! **_


	2. A Way Out

**_All characters are property of Stephenie Meyer. She's the creative genius, not me. Please don't sue me. Pretty please?_**

**Thanks for sticking around for this story! Here's chapter two. Thanks for the kind words. I'm glad you're enjoying my offering... **

**Love, **

**Fatima**

* * *

**Dr. Cullen POV**

I had just worked a double shift. My back was aching, more than usual given my age. It always did after working doubles. My chiropractor would be getting a call from me sometime this week, that's for sure.

As I entered the ER for what I thought was the last time that night, I heard the nurses calling for me. I approached them as they held out a chart for me to read of a young woman who fell down the stairs in her suburban home. The name on the file looked a bit familiar, perhaps due to frequent trips to our hospital. I glanced down at the chart, and just as I suspected, her history showed various contusions and trauma over the last year, which resulted in many admittances. I quickly skimmed through the injuries and the attending doctor's notes. Hmm. What an unlucky young woman — or a very uncoordinated young woman.

I had a hard time believing the latter. Her injuries looked like random occurrences, but they typically warned of other things, at least based on previous experience. I'd seen these sorts of injuries, which were explained by her significant other to be the result of 'unfortunate accidents' before. Being a doctor for over fifteen years brought with it a certain amount of recurrent events that sounded warning bells in my head even before speaking with the patient.

This individual, one Marie Huntington, 26 years old, born at St. Joseph's Hospital in Toronto, Ontario, apparently had horrid luck, judging from the grocery list of injuries before me. Sprained wrists, broken arm, a concussion, and most recently, she was released only hours ago from a miscarriage. Now, she was back here because she fell down the stairs. What had she been doing that she fell down a flight of stairs?

I hadn't been available to assist when she came in earlier that day because of her miscarriage, but I had heard the attending physician huffing because of an 'impossible man' who blamed his wife's trauma on her actions. Could this man have been responsible for her latest visit to our facility?

I steeled myself, preparing to check in on Mrs. Huntington. As I pushed on the door to the room, I took a final look down the hallway. There was no one close to this room. No one was waiting outside for her. What's more, she was alone in the room. Her file indicated that she was married, and had been for nearly two years, so I wondered where her husband was. It would have been more commonplace to have seen him right by her side, but he was noticeably absent. After having suffered a miscarriage and then falling down a flight of stairs—which could have been deadly—to be left alone in a hospital room was a terrible state in which to be.

She was asleep when I walked into the room. Her right cheek was swollen, the tissue around her eye was bruising quickly, and one of her arms was broken. She had some internal bleeding, but the ER staff did a wonderful job at stopping the bleeding before it got out of hand. She really was lucky to be alive, and to have escaped a fall like that without more injuries was a miracle.

Though I didn't know her personally, I thought she looked like a calm person, perhaps someone with a lot of patience for children. She looked as if she was such a gentle spirit. That probably explained her patience—albeit misplaced—for the situation in which she now found herself. At least the situation I suspected she was in. I wouldn't know anything for sure until I spoke to her.

Just as I thought this, her eyes began to flutter behind her eyelids. I didn't want to scare her, so I hurried out of the room before she regained consciousness. I made it a point to come back to check on her after a few minutes to allow her to take in her room at her own pace. It would probably have been too disconcerting to wake up—again—in a hospital room without a familiar face at her bedside. I'd give her a minute or two to adjust, and then I would check up on her.

After a few minutes passed, I opened the door to the room. I smiled at her, but seeing the look of sheer confusion on her face made me feel an enormous amount of pity for her. I hated that feeling because I'm sure she hated being pitied too.

"Hello Mrs. Huntington. My name is Dr. Cullen. How are you feeling?" I asked her gently.

"Uh, I'm alright. Really sore, though," she replied. Her voice was harsh from misuse.

"Yes, that's to be expected. You fell down a few steps and thankfully, the damage isn't as bad as it could have been. You could have been paralyzed—or worse. Do you remember anything about the events that caused your fall, Mrs. Huntington?"

I could see that she was trying to determine how to answer my question. She was preparing to lie about it, no question. I had seen it before so many times.

"No, I don't remember much about what happened."

"Hmm. Your husband says that you returned home from your most recent hospital stay after the miscarriage and you fainted while about to go down the stairs. Does that ring a bell?" I asked

"That's probably it," she replied quietly. "I just needed to rest and I guess I walked down the stairs too fast and lost my balance or something. I'm a big klutz. If you've seen my records, you'll see that I've been here a few times before," she smiled weakly. I nodded and went to the door to close and lock it. I wanted to make sure she knew that what she told me was private and protected by patient-doctor confidentiality. I brought a chair closer to the bed and sat down, leaning toward her in the most non-threatening way I could muster.

"Mrs. Huntington, I have reviewed your medical records. You've been hospitalized four times in the last few months before you became pregnant. The injuries are not consistent with the various explanations the hospital ER gets from your husband on your behalf. And there is no way my colleague checked you out while you were here a few hours ago and failed to mention that you had a swollen lip and a bruise on the side of your face. So I must ask you," I took a deep breath before I finished my thought, "and please be honest with me, Mrs. Huntington. Is your husband violent with you?"

As I said those words, tears fell from her eyes suddenly. The stoic look on her face, however, remained. I shook my head in sadness.

"Please, Mrs. Huntington."

"Marie, if you don't mind," she corrected.

"Marie, for your own safety, please tell me."

"I fell down the stairs, Dr. Cullen."

She wasn't going to be truthful with me. I went to stand up and leave. Before I did, I turned back to her for my final attempt to reason with her. After all, she had known me for a grand total of 5 minutes, and didn't owe me anything. She had every right to refuse my help.

"Marie, might I suggest that you stop this cycle before it continues, and protect yourself. Or, better yet, press charges and begin anew elsewhere."

She began sobbing at that moment, and cried into her hands. I resumed my seat with renewed confidence I could help her.

"Marie, you have no need to be afraid. If you press charges against him, he'll never bother you again."

"He's one of the best and most reputable lawyers in the city. He has ties with all the law enforcement agencies in the region, and even with some of the not-so-nice guys he's defended. I would be dead if he ever got out and found me. Let alone what he would do to my parents in Toronto. He's already made threats against them if I left." I was shocked. This man clearly had no scruples, no ethics, and no soul. To threaten her family if she left him was the act of a desperate man, but also one of an insane man.

There had to be something I could do to help this poor woman out of this situation.

There was.

There was much I could do.

I had friends who were very influential. I must admit, some didn't associate with the most reputable people, but these ties came in handy every so often.

Just like in this instance.

"He isn't the only one with connections, Marie," I whispered.

"I'm sorry, what?" She was confused.

"Marie," I said, patting her hand on her lap. "Where there is a will, there is a way."

I debated what the next words to come out of my mouth would be. Seeing the look of hope that was peeking through her eyes at me was reason enough for me. My mind was set then and there.

"I can help you, if you'll let me."

"Help me do what, Dr. Cullen?"

"Escape this man, Marie. If you want, that is. The first step will be hard, but once you make it, you'll be on your way to a new life." I sincerely hoped she would trust me enough to allow me to help her.

"Are you serious?" She sat up straighter in her bed and stared at me.

"I am, Marie," I said seriously. Confusion still loomed in her features.

"Why..." she asked.

I ran my hand through my hair, "Because it is part of my Hippocratic oath."

"That oath has nothing in it about saving an abused woman from her psychotic husband."

I laughed, though the situation wasn't at all funny. "No, it doesn't. But I have to do everything in my power to help my patients, and you are one of my patients. Also, I have a son your age, so I feel as protective of you as I would be with him."

"Thank you, Dr. Cullen."

She began to cry again. I took it as her acceptance of my help. I would do anything in my power to take her away from this city and away from James Huntington. If the plan brewing in my mind succeeded, she'd have a new life, and he'd never bother her again.

"Marie, please call me Carlisle. And don't worry about a thing. We're keeping you here overnight for observation. We'll discuss the plan for your escape later this evening. I have some phone calls to make to prepare."

I stood up, feeling proud of myself for agreeing to help Marie have a chance at a new life. I squeezed her hand reassuringly. "Everything will be fine. Rest for now. We'll talk soon."

With that, I waved and left the room purposefully. I had so much planning and convincing to do. I had favours to call in, and someone's death to fake…

**BPOV**

That night, Dr. Carlisle Cullen came into my room and laid out the whole escape plan for me. It seemed that Dr. Cullen had a wonderful upstanding reputation within the community, and his pull and influence was far outreaching indeed. This meant that no one would ever doubt his judgment or decisions. There had never been a reason to doubt his skill or ethics, either. Lucky for me.

He didn't give me the specific details, because he felt I had enough on my proverbial plate to handle at the moment, but the impression I got was that he would make my fall down the stairs seem far more serious than it had been. Dr. Cullen transferred me to the ICU within a few hours of our initial conversation to keep up the pretence that I had gotten worse overnight.

Once I was there, Dr. Cullen called James to let him know that I had suffered head trauma due to the fall and I slipped into a coma overnight; apparently, it was common for this sort of fall. Dr. Cullen told me that I had been incredibly lucky that that hadn't actually happen to me. When I asked how he was able to pull off this rouse, he shook his head and looked grave as he said, "Sadly, this sort of thing happens frequently with these sorts of injuries. It is not uncommon. Some head injuries have a way of turning serious if not treated or caught in time."

James hadn't said much in response. Dr. Cullen refused to tell me exactly what was said, although James probably wouldn't be able to contain his contempt for me, even while on the phone with a doctor he had never met. It wouldn't take a Master's Degree to figure out how excited James would be that his worthless wife was comatose and would probably never wake up.

The one thing that Dr. Cullen did impart to me was that James had asked how soon I would wake up, to which Dr. Cullen had replied that my condition was most likely permanent. James had instantly told Dr. Cullen to pull the plug and he'd take care of the cremation. Just like that. He'd have me disposed of without even coming to see me again, which had both disgusted and pleased Dr. Cullen.

**Dr. Cullen POV**

"Hello, Mr. Huntington?"

"This is him."

"Hello, this is Dr. Carlisle Cullen. I am your wife's doctor."

"Oh, yes, that's right. What can I do for you? Has her condition changed?"

"Unfortunately, yes it has, Mr. Huntington," I said, trying to add a tone of remorse and sadness to my voice.

"Oh?"

"Mrs. Huntington's condition has deteriorated quite suddenly. The head injury she sustained worsened. I'm sorry, Mr. Huntington, but your wife slipped into a coma overnight."

There was silence on the other end of the phone. What was this brutal and cruel man thinking? At length, I could hear his deep, angry inhalation of breath and release.

"What are the chances that she'll wake up?" There was no pain or anguish in his voice. If anything, he was angry. This unsettled me even further. I knew what he was capable of, but this was unfathomable. How could he be so callous about the life of his wife?

I successfully masked the disgust in my voice when I answered him. "I'm afraid the chances are very slim. We've had to place her on a machine to assist her breathing. Her brain activity has decreased dramatically as well. I'm so sorry, Mr. Huntington."

There was another pause. He seemed to be figuring things out silently.

"We discussed this sort of thing before. You know, in case one of us was in this situation. Since I have Power of Attorney for her in such a situation, you can take her off of life support," he said indifferently. I hadn't missed that at all. "It's what she would have wanted," he added quietly. I highly doubted that they had discussed that, or that Marie knew that her husband had gone ahead and taken care of ensuring he had the Power of Attorney over her.

I hadn't been expecting such an easy conversation—relatively easy, that is. The man's indifference and disinterest as he was being told his wife was on death's door was incredibly difficult for me to handle. I had to keep reminding myself that his disinterest was a good thing for Marie's survival. The less he cared, the easier it would be for my help to be beneficial to her situation.

"I understand," I replied with as much of a sympathetic tone as I could muster. "We would need you to sign some liability forms. You understand," I braced myself for the questioning I expected from any grieving husband, not just one who happened to be a lawyer. But it never came.

"Yes, I am familiar with those particular documents. I will have them faxed to your office within the hour," I heard the clack-clacking of keystrokes in the background. It seemed that James didn't even have enough respect for his wife to stop working and give her doctor his full attention; that, or that he was already seeing to getting the documents prepared…

"When should I have the F.J Higgins Funeral Home people pick up the body for cremation?"

I couldn't help my jaw from practically dropping to the floor when I heard his callous words, as if he were asking how long he would expect it to take to have his car washed. I took a deep breath to steady myself.

"These things take at least a few days, Mr. Huntington."

"Well, there's no use in dragging this out longer than we have to. I have preparations to make and people to call. Can it be done by Thursday afternoon?" It was Tuesday morning. I couldn't help but shake my head with incredulity. With a professional tone I didn't know I could use while so disturbed, I replied quietly: "Certainly."

"Good. I'll call them to get things underway. Is there anything else I should know?"

Unbelievable. Absolutely unbelievable. I wouldn't have believed it unless I had heard it for myself.

"Can we expect you to see her at the hospital one final time before we release her body to F.J Higgins?" I was prepared for whatever answer he had at this point. Or at least I thought.

"There's no need. I have no interest in seeing a corpse. I'd rather keep my memories of her while she was alive instead of replacing them with the images of a cadaver."

I sighed. "I understand," I said again, trying to bring back the professional in me. "Once we receive your fax, we'll take your wife off of life support. I assume we'll be in touch with the funeral home tomorrow." James made a grunting noise to affirm what I had just said.

"Well, then, Mr. Huntington. I am deeply sorry for your loss. If you have any further questions, you have my number at the hospital."

"Yes, thank you for your call. Good day to you."

I held the phone in my hand until I heard the dial tone.

While I couldn't believe how heartless James really had been, I was so grateful that he hadn't demanded to see Marie's 'corpse' or come to visit her before we 'pulled the plug' on her fictitious life support system. While I had had a contingency plan ready in the event of just such a request, I was glad I didn't have to implement it. It would have made the plan much more difficult to pull off. Also, it was a pure stroke of luck that James had wanted to have the body cremated. It would save me a conversation with the funeral home people and the big 'donation' that I'd have to make to the funeral home's director, Whitney, in return for his silence. As it was, I only needed to let Whitney know about the arrangement. He would give James wood ashes, and would receive his price without doing any of the work. He had agreed without a second thought. Not only were we associates, but once I explained the situation Marie was in, he was happy to help, as long as he was never implicated in the faking of her death. As there would never be a reason to question the manner of her death—I had taken care of all of that and paid the right people to turn the other way—I assured him that his name or that of his business would never be suspected of wrongdoing.

Thursday came all too quickly. Marie was anxious, but I assured her that I would make sure that she was safe. I could tell that she wanted to believe me; I saw the hope creeping into her expression, but the majority of the emotion there was laden with fear and terror at being caught. Even though I told her as much of the plan as I deemed necessary for it to succeed, she was weary and scared to death. In theory, the plan was simple: we were to transport Marie from the hospital under the pretence that her husband's wishes were followed and we had taken her off of life support. I had made arrangements with Whitney at the funeral home to transport her there. Once she was safely in the funeral home, I had a car and a driver waiting there to drive her across to New York. Hopefully she'd enjoy the driver's company as much as I did…

* * *

_Who is the driver?? Will he turn her in? Will Marie be safe? _

_Chapter Three should be ready in a few days! Stay tuned, people... thanks for reading ^_^_


	3. A New Friend

_**All characters are property of Stephenie Meyer. She's the creative genius, not me. Please don't sue me. Pretty please?**_

**Here's Chapter Three. **

**A HUGE thanks goes out to one of my dearest and best friends, and one of my bridesmaids in my wedding this coming August, Meghan, for beta'ing this chapter for me and weeding out the mindless errors I may have originally had. I love you!**

**~Fatima**

* * *

**BPOV**

Whitney, the nice funeral home director, opened the car door for me and told me to lie on the backseat while he covered me with a blanket. There was no sense in taking any chances at someone seeing me now that I was nearly free. I did as he asked and lay on my stomach with my arms under my chin. The blanket he covered me with smelled sweet, like it had been sprayed with copious amounts of Febreeze. I didn't mind at all. There were worse things it could smell like…

I heard the driver's side door open, a brief conversation take place, and the door close. The ignition started and I heard the driver put on his seat belt with a satisfying 'click'. The car was put into gear and I could feel the car beginning to move slowly. We must have driven out of the back parking lot of the funeral home, because the driver began accelerating steadily. After a few turns, I began to suspect that the driver knew I was there, because he was not driving extremely fast, and his turns were smooth, as if he didn't want to disturb me terribly.

I took a deep breath of Febreeze-filled air and tried to relax myself. Sure, I was out of the hospital, I had met a few wonderful people who helped me to escape, but who knew what tomorrow would bring with it? What if the driver of this car wasn't as sympathetic to abused women's plights and turned me in? James would surely beat me, and wouldn't stop until I was coughing up blood or dead—whichever came first. At the sheer thought of being caught, I began to tremble.

"Marie," a delicate female voice sounded from the front seat.

My driver was a woman. Boy, had I been wrong…

"I don't want you to be afraid. I know this isn't the greatest travel arrangement in the world, but perhaps we can talk for a while before we get to the New York state line."

We were going to New York? I guess that made sense. I remained silent. The driver decided to break the silence again.

"I apologise," she said embarrassedly. "I haven't introduced myself. My name is Esme Cullen. I am Dr. Cullen's wife."

Of course. That made complete sense. Who else would Dr. Cullen trust the transport of a runaway wife other than his very own wife?

She sounded so educated, so formal, and yet so warm and comforting. Just like Dr. Cullen had been to me. Knowing I was traveling with another member of his family made me feel so relieved that I felt tears spring out of my eyes. I sniffled and mumbled a quiet, "Thank you, Mrs. Cullen," from under the blanket.

"Oh, no, dear, no need to cry. And no need to thank me. And please, call me Esme if you don't mind," she soothed in a maternal manner that suited her wonderfully.

"Once we cross the state line, I think it'll be safe for you to come and sit beside me. While we're still in Massachusetts, though, I think it will be best for you to relax back there. Is that alright?"

"That's fine. Thank you," I said.

"Marie, tell me about yourself. From what Carlisle tells me, you are a teacher?"

I sighed. That was one aspect of my life that was over. I hadn't even thought about what I would do now that I couldn't teach. If Marie Huntington was dead, my teaching degree was effectively null and void.

"Was," I began sullenly. "I guess I can't teach anymore."

Esme chuckled lightly. "Don't count on that, dear. Carlisle must not have told you just how many friends he has." Just then, an old-fashioned telephone ringtone sounded. Esme laughed quietly. "Speaking of the devil himself… Hello, darling," she paused, listening, no doubt. "Yes, she's doing fine. We're on the I-90 already, and we are making excellent time. We should be in Latham in a few hours."

Her voice was wonderfully relaxing. It reminded me of honey. She sounded as if she had no cares in the world, and I had a strong feeling that she exuded that sort of mood to those around her, too. Just her manner hinted that she and Dr. Cullen had been made for each other. Well, I guess true love _did _exist.

"Marie?" Esme asked suddenly. I hadn't been paying attention. "What is your middle name?"

"Isabella," I said, not skipping a beat.

"Fitting," Esme said quietly, sounding like she was smiling. "Carlisle, it's _Isabella_," she paused again, listening. She giggled softly. "Yes, I know…that's perfect…alright, darling. Take care of yourself. I love you, too. Bye."

I didn't feel comfortable enough to ask what the conversation was about, or why Carlisle had requested to know my middle name.

"Carlisle is sending us some information. It will be ready for us by the time we arrive at the hotel in Latham."

"Oh," I mumbled. What else could I say?

Esme chuckled again. "Marie, I want you to feel comfortable with me, dear. We'll be traveling together for the next few hours. It would be pretty boring if we didn't talk, wouldn't you say?" she asked sincerely. I sighed.

"You're right. Sorry."

"No need to be sorry," I could hear the smile in her voice. "Maybe I can start. Do you have any questions for me perhaps?"

I felt more at ease immediately. I thought a little. "Um, well, how long have you and Carlisle been married?"

"25 years this coming October. Carlisle was 23 and I was 20 when we were married."

I did the math in my head quickly. "Wow. I guessed his age all wrong when I first met him," I commented, soliciting a giggle from Esme.

"I know. He's always been blessed with a youthful appearance. I just hope you'll think the same when you get a look at me," she joked.

Although I probably could have taken a peek at her and pulled the blanket from over my head, I was paranoid and wanted to make sure we were at least out of the state before doing so. My look at Carlisle's wife would have to wait until New York.

"And you have a son?" I asked, recalling Carlisle's need to help me stemming from the fact that I was the same age as his son.

"Two, actually. And a daughter. My sons are 26 and 24, and my daughter is 20."

"That's great."

"Yes, my kids are great people. I'd like to think Carlisle and I should take the bulk of the credit for that, but that wouldn't be fair to them," she paused, most likely thinking fondly of her kids. I felt a pang of envy stirring within me. I would never have that, unless I was lucky enough to find someone who didn't mind that I was paranoid and scared for my life—that, or I got artificially inseminated…

"Oh, dear, I'm sorry to be gushing about my children," Esme said sadly. I realized that I had sighed loudly while I was pondering my situation and the certainty that there would be no children in my future.

"Esme, no, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you feel badly. Your children sound like wonderful people."

"They are. Let's change the subject, hmm? What sort of music do you enjoy?"

Bless her, with that change of subject, I felt relieved and I stopped thinking about the miscarriage. For the rest of the drive until we crossed the New York state line, we discussed music, bands, one-hit wonders from the 80's, and anything that related to music. It was refreshing to think of something other than life-or-death situations and escapes.

All the while, Esme let me know roughly how close we were to the state line. I'm sure she was excited to have a traveling companion beside her as opposed to one concealed by a blanket in the back seat. It helped my anxiety, too—knowing how close we were before I could actually see the scenery passing me by.

As we pulled up to the service station off of the freeway, Esme told me it was safe to take the blanket off and stretch my legs while she filled the gas tank and took a bathroom break. I threw off the blanket as I heard Esme close the driver's side door. I sat up slowly and stretched my arms above my head. This felt so wonderful! I stretched my legs, rolling my ankles one by one clockwise and counter-clockwise. I looked around the car's interior. I hadn't noticed much about the car before I got in back in Boston, but now I realized my getaway car was the latest model Honda Civic sedan, much like the car Rene, my mother, drove. I recognized the digital dashboard and the 'H' logo on the steering wheel. This was a reliable car, although I wouldn't have imagined Dr. Cullen or Esme driving anything below a Mercedes, seeing as how he was a very successful doctor. Perhaps this was their car of choice for transporting women across state lines. I let out a laugh at that thought as I opened the door and stepped out of the car. At my full height, I stretched again and rolled my shoulders.

I took in my surroundings. We had stopped at a NOCO station off the I-90, and traffic was moderate. I assumed it was Esme who was pumping gas with her back to me. She turned to face me and smiled when her eyes met mine.

"Marie!" she beamed. "It's nice to see you face to face, dear."

I stepped towards her while I evaluated how wrong my image of Esme had been when I had only heard her voice. She had golden brown hair in a long, fashionable bob. It was styled straight, but it had body. She had a lean heart-shaped face with sincere, brown eyes and a slender nose. Her smile was genuine, and it lit up her already beautiful face. She was at least as tall as Dr. Cullen. I pictured the two of them standing side by side in my mind, and I was certain that they were a beautiful couple together.

She was fashionably dressed in a satiny hunter green blouse and black, straight-leg trousers with an understated belt around her small waist. In essence, she looked like she had just stepped out of a JC Penny catalogue.

"It's good to finally put a face to the voice," I said when I reached the other side of the car.

"It is. You should grab something to eat or drink and take a bathroom break. We have another hour drive ahead of us," she gestured with her free hand towards the small building to the right. I nodded and walked the short distance to the building. As I stepped in, I had a craving for chocolate. After I took care of business, I walked back out into the sales floor and found a display with all sorts of different brands of chocolate bars. I decided upon a Three Musketeers bar and pulled it from the display. I walked towards the cooler by the wall and pulled out a bottle of Sprite and closed the door. I walked up to the waiting cashier and stopped suddenly as I reached into my pockets.

Stupid me.

I had no money in my pockets.

After all, I had come from the hospital directly to the funeral home. I disappointedly began walking back to put the Sprite and the chocolate bar away when Esme came in, holding out her hands in a gesture that told me to wait.

"Sorry, Marie. I forgot," she turned to the cashier. "Pump number 4, please, and these things as well." She pointed to the items in my hand, and then grabbed a Coke from the cooler, pointed to it, and put it on the counter along with a credit card.

We walked towards the car side by side. "Thank you, Esme," I said.

"It was absolutely no problem," she pulled the passenger-side door open and held it for me, gesturing for me to enter. "Come on in, co-pilot," she mused, smiling heartily.

It was such a relief to actually be able to see the trees passing, other cars driving by, and breathing air other than Febreeze-laden air. I clicked my seatbelt in place and smiled. Esme entered the car and turned to face me.

"I'm sure this is much more comfortable than the backseat," she stated. I nodded.

"It is. Thank you." I sighed and smiled back at Esme as I leaned back into the seat and got more comfortable than I had been in a very long time.

When we finally stopped a few hours later it was at a Clarion Hotel in a town called Latham, New York. It reminded me of an old Victorian home with pillars. It only had two floors, but it gave me the impression that the area was mature and valued old money. In my earlier years, when I was dragged to Buffalo, New York for shopping excursions with my mom, we'd pass through a small town called Williamsville. Latham reminded me of this small town; well-maintained older buildings with character, vines growing along the sides of some of those buildings, smaller main streets, old world lamp-posts, the works.

It was nice to be reminded of a better time in my life, because at that moment, I was running for my life with someone who could be considered a complete stranger. Any distraction was welcome.

Esme pulled two small carry-on type suitcases out of the trunk of the car, and pulled them towards the front desk to check in, with me in tow. I was silent, the length of the car ride having tired me out.

When we arrived in the lobby of the hotel, Esme handed the front desk clerk a credit card and quoted a number to get our room. The clerk handed her a room card and a large manila envelope. Esme nodded and motioned to me to follow her down the hall.

Esme unlocked the door and allowed me to step in first. She closed the door behind her.

I took a look around. It was a simple but clean two-bedroom suite. There was a small kitchen located just to the right of the door, complete with a refrigerator, oven, and microwave. To the left of the door, there was a small table with four chairs. Beyond that, there was a small living room type area with a two-seater sofa and a love seat. A small plasma television was propped on the wall before the sofas. The bedrooms were located on either side of this living space.

"I hope you like it. I wasn't sure how comfortable you'd be around me by the time we reached the state line, so I got a two bedroom suite."

Esme rolled one of the suitcases towards me, holding the handle out for me to take it. "And this is for you. Carlisle told me your sizes and I got some essentials for you. They should do for now."

I smiled. "Wow. Esme, that's really thoughtful of you. Thank you," I said, taking the suitcase handle from her.

"Go get settled in your room and come on out when you're ready."

Bless her, they had thought of everything. I was nearly overcome with everything that she and Dr. Cullen had already done for me that I got choked up with emotion. My emotions must have been evident on my face, because Esme walked back over to me and placed a gentle hand on my shoulder.

"Marie," she began softly. "Would you like to talk about it? It might help."

I shook my head. There was no way I could burden her with my problems when she had been nothing but nice and helpful to me.

Esme seemed to understand my dilemma. She patted my shoulder soothingly and said, "Ok, dear. I understand. If you don't want to talk about it, but please know that I will listen when you're ready."

I attempted a smile through the tears that were now falling freely down my face. I wiped them away and instantly realized that my face was still bruised because I felt a sting of pain suddenly as I did so. I winced in pain and sighed. How could I have forgotten the slap that my husband had bestowed upon me before he pushed me down the stairs? The tears fell a little faster at that thought.

"How could I have allowed myself to get into this situation?" I asked aloud, sniffling. Esme's features softened and worry played across her delicate face. She leaned closer to me and extended her arm fully around my shoulder maternally.

"It is NOT your fault, Marie. You must know that," she began, her voice full of knowledge and authority, as if she was strongly urging me to believe her. Something in her tone told me that she understood my situation better than I had originally thought.

"It's hard to believe that, Esme. I mean, he changed so suddenly that I wasn't prepared for it, but I never really tried to leave." I shook my head and looked at my feet, suddenly ashamed at my inability to leave James.

"You were afraid, dear. And with good reason, especially if he threatened your family like Carlisle told me he did," she soothed, rubbing circles of comfort on my back. "But today is another day, and the start of your new life. A life without fear, without misplaced guilt, and without _him_," she concluded confidently, facing me. I noticed that she had tears in her eyes, too. I smiled at her empathy and allowed her to hug me in return. After the embrace, Esme wiped her stray tears and flashed me a hopeful smile. She cleared her throat and walked towards the table where she had dropped the manila envelope she received at the front desk. Opening the envelope, she returned to my side and motioned for me to sit down on the sofa with her. I sat down obediently beside her.

Esme sat with her leg under her and turned towards me. She pulled open the envelope and let the contents slide onto her lap. A jumble of different sized papers fell out of the envelope. She looked through it all briefly before returning her gaze to me and beaming.

"I was going to wait until you were settled in your room to give you these, but I think it's better this way," she looked down at the papers on her lap again briefly. "Marie, these are your new lifelines."

I blinked, confused. She lifted one of the papers before her by the top corners to show me.

"You are no longer Marie Huntington; at least according to these documents."

Oh. Carlisle and Esme _had most definitely _thought of everything…

"This is your new birth certificate, dear."

I stared at it curiously, as if it were written in a new and strange language I needed to learn quickly. Under date of birth, my birth date remained the same thankfully. Place of birth also remained the same. Whew. My name had changed.

_Isabella Swan_.

They had used my middle name and my mom's maiden name to create my new name. It had a nice sound to it. Well, _Isabella_ was always kind of long for me. I always thought that name was best used for soap opera characters.

I reached for the certificate in Esme's hand and brought it close to my face to inspect it. "Wow, it looks incredible."

"Do you like your name, dear? I told Carlisle that we should use something that reminded you of who you were before you were married. Originally, we thought of giving you your maiden name, but we felt that if the worst happened, he'd be looking for your maiden name…"

She was right. This made more sense.

"Oh, yes. It's perfect," I smiled. "Try it out."

"Isabella, would you like to see the rest of your documents?"

"Hmm," I pondered aloud. "It sounds too formal. How about just _Bella_?"

Esme nodded quickly. "Bella. I like it. It makes perfect sense for you, dear," she complimented. My face grew warmer. She laughed quietly. "It does!" she defended. "No sense in denying your natural beauty."

Eager to change the topic of my _beauty_, I said, "What are those documents?" referring to the rest of the pile of documents on her lap.

For each document Esme held it up briefly before handing it to me. For the third time that day, I found myself thinking that Carlisle had absolutely thought of everything. There were all sorts of documents. Each one was a replacement of a similar document I had been forced to leave behind in my previous life. My Ontario driver's license and health cards had been replaced by Manitoba driver's license and health cards, a University of Boston degree for Isabella Swan, even a teaching certificate. When Esme handed me the teaching certificate, my heart soared.

"Does this mean that I can still teach?" I asked excitedly, unable to keep my expression as demure as when I inspected the rest of the documents.

She nodded with a smile. "Bella, you can still teach."

I hugged Esme as she said this, the emotion returning suddenly. I felt tears begin to soak Esme's pretty green blouse. I remembered that it was satiny, so I immediately backed away bashfully.

"Sorry. I don't want to ruin your blouse with my tears," I mumbled.

"Oh, Marie…oops, I mean _Bella_," she smiled again. "You can hug me anytime, without fear of ruining my outfit. After all, it's just clothing. Your well-being is far more important than that."

She glanced down at the final item in her lap. I hadn't noticed that there was a small square envelope resting beneath the rest of the documents. She picked it up and opened the envelope with a look of confidence.

Out of the envelope came a Canadian passport.

"This is the last document you need," Esme commented, handing it to me with a grin as she watched my reaction.

My free hand flew to my mouth with shock. Forging a passport was tricky business, let alone a Canadian one.

But this meant that I could go and visit my parents to let them know that I didn't die, that I was alive and well. I let out a relieved and contented sigh at the thought.

"Incredible. I didn't think it was possible to be even more grateful to you and Carlisle, but here's the proof."

"We knew you'd want to see your parents."

"Maybe I could even live there with them—"

Esme cut me off. "No, Mar—Bella, you cannot do that. You should definitely visit them from time to time, but it would be unwise to live there. At least at first. Our plan seems to be working so far and his suspicion hasn't been aroused, but we shouldn't press our luck, dear. What if someone recognized you, besides your parents, and told him," I appreciated the fact that she never once used James' name when referring to him. "Someone might tell him that that they could have sworn they had seen you in Toronto, and then he'd put the two coincidences together and…well, let's not think about the alternative."

She made perfect sense, but it hurt to hear it. I frowned, but understood. "Ok, so where am I going to live, then?" I asked, trying not to sound like a pouting child.

"Well, Carlisle and I were thinking of a small town in Washington. It only has about 4000 inhabitants. It's a quaint little town. It's full of rich green forests and very friendly people."

I appreciated her attempt at trying to make the town sound pleasing. "That's fine, Esme. I will do whatever it takes to get out of his reach. And I'd say this is pretty far from his reach…"

"Yes, that's why we suggest it, Bella."

I took a deep breath and stood to go to my room to settle in. "I'm going to get ready for bed. I know it's early, but I'm drained." Esme nodded in understanding. "Thank you for everything you've done for me today."

"No problem, dear. Get some rest. We'll talk some more if you feel up for it tomorrow morning. I'll have some breakfast ready for you."

"That would be great, if you don't mind that is. Thanks again."

I was about to open the door to my room when I remembered something. I turned back to Esme, who was putting all the documents back into the manila envelope from which they had come.

"Oh, Esme?" She looked up.

"What is the name of that small town in Washington?"

She smiled, as if remembering something wonderful that happened there.

"Forks, dear."


	4. A Cross Country Trip

**_All characters are property of Stephenie Meyer. She's the creative genius, not me. Please don't sue me. Pretty please?_**

_A few words of gratetude before the story begins:  
- Thanks for sticking around with this story.  
- Thanks to everyone who reviewed!!  
- And THANK YOU to my dear friend, Meghan once again for helping weed out the mindless errors I am always capable of!! Love you! _

_Remember, you like, you review. Don't like? Review anyway ^_^_

_Now, on with the show..._

* * *

That night, I slept fitfully. Although the bed was incredibly luxurious, thoughts of James finding out I was alive and coming after me haunted my dreams and sent me into a fit of screams from which I was awoken by Esme.

Her worried face greeted me as I was jolted out of sleep, but instead of trying to get to go back to sleep, she sat with me and talked the rest of the night until I was sleepy enough to pass out on her shoulder.

I awoke from my second attempt at sleep with the sun in my eyes from the slit of window not covered by the heavy hotel drapes. It was already 10am, and I was finally well rested. I rose out of bed and took care of my morning bathroom needs first before greeting Esme in the kitchen. From the bathroom, I could smell bacon and freshly toasted bread. My mouth began to water at the scents. I wrapped up my necessities in the bathroom—which included using almost all the amenities that Esme had so kindly put into the suitcase for me—and entered the main living area of the suite to find Esme setting the table for the two of us.

She had cooked bacon, toasted some sliced bread, and made scrambled eggs. It looked so appealing on the table that I sat down instantly before even acknowledging her. I realized my rudeness and flushed.

"Sorry, Esme. This all looks delicious," I said embarrassedly. She sat down and began putting her portion on her plate.

"That's ok. It does smell good, doesn't it?" she laughed good-naturedly. "How did you sleep the rest of the night?"

"Better, thanks. And thank you for staying with me. You must be exhausted."

"Actually, I slept wonderfully after I knew you were ok. Plus, I spoke to Carlisle after you dozed off."

"Oh? How is he?"

"Better, now that we're out of Massachusetts. He's been anxious to talk to you. I told him you'd call him after breakfast."

I nodded. "Thanks." I began eating some of the bacon on my plate with a smile.

After breakfast was done and I had washed the dishes, Esme dialled Carlisle and handed the phone to me. It rang twice before being answered.

"Dr. Cullen," the professional-sounding voice said.

"Hi, Dr. Cullen," I began slowly.

"Isabella! What a pleasant surprise!" he said happily, using my alias without any hesitation.

"How are you? Is Esme being mean to you?" he joked. I giggled.

"Bella, actually," I heard him make a noise of approval at that. "And she's being anything but mean. She's absolutely wonderful. You both have been. I can't thank you both enough. I feel foolish only using the words '_thank you_' to express my gratitude," I rambled.

"No need to thank us. We just want you to be safe. And if all goes well, you will be in a few short days. Now, Isabella—oh, I mean _Bella_, did you read over all the documents I sent to you yesterday?"

"Yes, I did. Thank you again."

"And you are comfortable with your name?"

"Oh yes, I am."

He chuckled. "Esme was right, then," he stated to himself. "Well, I just wanted to make sure everything was alright with you before you continue travelling."

I looked at Esme when Dr. Cullen said this. She smiled and nodded. "Where are we going?"

"To your new home, Bella; that is, if you are comfortable with it. Did Esme tell you about Forks?"

"She did. It sounds nice."

"It is. She and I used to live there," he murmured sweetly. His voice took on the same wistfulness that Esme's had when she had first mentioned it to me. I understood instantly and smiled at Esme.

"I see. No wonder Esme looks so peaceful when she mentions Forks."

I heard Dr. Cullen chuckling again. "We had wonderful times there. We hope that you will, too."

"I hope so. When do we leave?"

"You have a bit more driving to do to get to La Guardia. Once you get there, you and Esme are taking NWA flight 511 to Minneapolis, and then NWA flight 587 to Seattle. From there, Esme will rent a car and drive to Forks. It's another three and a half hour drive. But once you're there, Esme and I feel that you'll be safe to put down some new roots and begin anew."

"Great," I said, trying to hide my fear. This was such an upheaval that I was beginning to get terrified of the lengths to which we were going to ensure my new home was nowhere near anyone I knew. Dr. Cullen must have heard my hesitation.

"Bella, we will make sure you're safe. We want you to live a wonderful life, but if you feel uncomfortable with anything, you just have to say the word, and we'll change the course—"

"No, no, Dr. Cullen. It's not that. I'm not uncomfortable with the arrangement. I'm relieved that I'll be safe, but I'm just scared about leaving my entire life behind, even James," I cringed when I said his name. "It hasn't hit me yet, but I know that when it does, I'll be devastated."

"I understand, Bella. But just remember that the life you had with James was built on a love that crumbled the minute he hit you."

I nodded to myself at hearing Dr. Cullen's words. "I know. You're right. Esme has been a great help to me to work through this."

"As I knew she would be," Dr. Cullen commented quietly. "So you're alright to proceed with the travel arrangements?"

"Yes, I'm good. Thank you so much," I said emotionally, my voice beginning to crack. Esme walked over to me and put an arm around my shoulder again.

"Ok, Bella. Do take care of yourself. Can you please pass the phone to Esme?"

"Sure," I murmured. "Bye, Dr. Cullen."

"Bella, please call me Carlisle."

"If you insist…Carlisle."

"There you go. Good bye, Bella. Take care."

I handed the phone to Esme and went over to the living room and turned on the television to wait until Esme was off the phone to ask her when we'd be leaving. She was no longer than a few minutes. After her conversation was over, she came to the sofa and sat down.

"We've got a long day ahead of us," she sighed at the thought. "We should probably start packing up now."

I stood up and nodded. She was right. It sounded like we'd be travelling all day and maybe all night. The sooner we started, the sooner we'd be done and we'd be in Forks.

When we finally arrived at LaGuardia, I was terrified that the security guards would see right through my new name and recognize me. Esme's calmness eased my worries and I relaxed just enough not to have a panic attack as I walked onto the airplane. I guess the forged documents were done by the best in the industry. I wouldn't expect any less from Carlisle…

The flight to Minneapolis was short, arriving right on time. We only had to wait an hour before the connecting flight boarded. Within two hours, we were in the Sea-Tac Airport where Esme rented a small Ford Focus and began our trip to Forks.

I offered to drive a few times, noting how tired Esme must have been after driving so much the day before, but she insisted that she'd be fine.

I must have fallen asleep, because I was gently being tapped on the shoulder when the car finally stopped. I opened my eyes slowly, stretching briefly before glancing around. It was well after dark. We were at a small gas station called "Forks Gas N' Things", according to an illuminated wooden sign above the service centre. I turned my face to see who was tapping me. Esme was looking tired, but still beautiful.

"We're here, Bella," she happily relayed in a sing-song voice.

"Great," I replied as enthusiastically as I could while I was sleepy. I tried to stifle a yawn, but was unsuccessful.

"Don't worry; we have an apartment lined up for you down the road from here. It's not the greatest thing available. We thought you might want to move afterward, so it's your starter place until you get a job or something stable."

Wow. I hated to say it _again_, but they had really thought of everything. I just couldn't believe my luck. These people didn't know me from Eve. Yet here they were, putting their resources and their very reputations on the line for me. Never mind how much money Esme had spent just in the last 48 hours on me. Plane tickets, accommodations, car rentals, gas money, clothing, toiletries. I was utterly bewildered at all of it.

As we entered the small three-story apartment building, I finally began feeling at ease. James would never look for me in such a place. Not that we had given him any reason to look, and not that it wasn't clean, or well-kept, but it was certainly not what I had been used to, even back home in Toronto. I had never lived in an apartment, condominium, or basement apartment for that matter.

Esme gave me the key and I did the honours of opening the door. I stepped into a dark room and felt around for the light switch. I flicked it when I found it.

The space was small and empty, except for a pull-out couch in the living room. The square room had a hallway to the left and a door beside that. I opened it to find a bathroom. To the right, the kitchen was big enough to fit a small table and two chairs. The appliances were clean and white. They looked used, like the previous tenants left them here. Thankfully, they took good care of them.

I heard Esme shut and lock the door behind her.

"What do you think?" she asked cautiously. I turned to her and smiled.

"It's great," I took another look around. "Really."

"Let's take a look at the bedroom. There's only one in this apartment, but it's spacious."

We walked towards the one room I hadn't been in yet. Upon opening the door, I saw that there was a small wrought-iron double sized bed, already made up. There was a wooden dresser on the opposite end of the room, and one end table on either side of the bed. The window was adorned with a set of plastic horizontal blinds.

"This is just…" The words had escaped me. I walked over and took a seat at the foot of the bed. Esme joined me and put a motherly arm around me.

"I'm glad you like it," she said. She suddenly yawned, finally showing signs of weariness. "We can discuss the details in the morning. I'm going to call Carlisle to let him know we're fine, and then we'll get to bed. I'll take the sofa," she smiled and stepped out of the room.

I was so exhausted that I pulled back the covers, which were clean and simple, and dove in with my clothes still on. Within moments, I was asleep.

In the morning, Esme awoke first and went to buy breakfast at a local diner. When she returned, I was already dressed in jeans and a fitted t-shirt and my bed was neatly made. After this, I walked to the kitchen and took a look in the kitchen drawers. They had basic cutlery sets there, and the cupboards had a set of 4 white dishes. The cabinet underneath the sink held a dish rack with one clean towel and a small bottle of dish soap. In another cabinet, there were four various sized pots and pans; just enough for me to make my favourite dishes.

I heard the front door opening and felt my heartbeat accelerate.

"It's me, Bella," Esme called from the outside of the door as she unlocked it. I was so grateful that Esme had the forethought to call ahead of herself and ease my mind. She entered and locked the door behind her with the deadbolt and the slide lock. I relaxed immediately.

"Sorry, dear. Didn't mean to frighten you," she lifted the bag in her hand and grinned. "I come bearing sustenance."

Esme walked over to the table and began unloading the food from the bag. She got us each a western omelette sandwich and a coffee.

It was heavenly.

As we both finished our breakfast, Esme cleared her throat. "Bella, we're going to get you some groceries, a cell phone, and a small car today. Once that's done, I will have to leave you, dear."

As much as I hated to think that I wouldn't be in her company any longer, I knew it was inevitable. I had monopolized her time for three whole days. She had to get back to her life, her husband, and her children.

"I understand, Esme. You have a life to get back to."

"And you have a new life to start, Bella," she said smiling at me. "Now, let's clean up and go shopping!"

******

Our first stop was a used car dealership in town. Esme told me that the dealership was owned by an old friend. When I told her that I could get around on a bike instead of buying a car, she shook her head and told me that she was getting a great deal on it, and not to worry about the cost.

The owner, a young Native man named Jake, was not the typical used car salesman. He was wearing greased up coveralls and a bandana covering his head. Esme and I found him hunched over the open hood of a very old car.

Esme cleared her throat and called his name, making him jump. He turned quickly, his eyes falling on me, then Esme, then again on me. He had a strong jaw line, rich dark ochre skin, and deep expressive brown eyes. The smile he flashed me was polite but sweet, as if I wasn't what he was expecting. His eyes certainly did light up.

"Hi, Jake," Esme called as he gazed at me. He pulled a rag from his back pocket and cleaned his hands.

"Hi, Mrs. Cullen. How have you been?"

At that moment, I realized that Jake was probably my age, if not a year or two older.

"Good, dear, thank you," she looked at me. "This is Bella. Carlisle called you a few days ago, right?"

"Yes," he nodded. "He did," he turned his attention to me and addressed me. "I have just the thing for you, Bella."

He pulled the hood stand and let the hood of the car behind him snap closed. Once it closed, he patted the hood like he was petting an animal.

"Here it is. A 1986 Volkswagen Rabbit. I was just putting the final touches on the tune-up when you arrived."

I took a step forward. Even though it was over twenty years old, the forest green coloured paint was flawless and buffed. Jake must have taken great care of it.

"I completely rebuilt the engine for you. It's a standard transmission, though. Do you drive stick?" he asked me.

I shook my head. "I can teach you, if you want," Jake said pleasantly. I looked at Esme who was smiling.

"Sure, that would be fine. Thanks."

Jake smiled widened. "No problem," he looked at Esme. "So, the car is ready to go. Full tank of gas, new brakes, and all the fluids topped up. The key is in the ignition."

"Jake, thank you so much," Esme handed Jake an envelope that seemingly came out of thin air.

He took it and shook Esme's hand, then extended the same hand to me. I took it meekly and I could swear that I blushed at the contact. He shook my hand gently before letting it go and smiling sweetly at me.

"It was great to meet you, Bella. I hope to see you soon," he smiled again. He was friendly without being overly so. And Esme seemed to trust him.

Esme drove the car while I drove the rental back to my apartment. I then got into the passenger side of my new car and watched as Esme drove us to the grocery store. I focused on what her feet were doing while she was driving, as well as the timing between her right hand and her feet. Even with my horrible coordination I was sure I would get it eventually.

We bought groceries—well, Esme did. I just picked everything out. Then we purchased a cell phone with basic services on a pay-as-you-go basis. By the time we got back to the apartment, it was past 3 o'clock in the afternoon.

Esme pulled out a small notebook and began to write.

She continued to write as she said, "These are all our phone numbers. I'm putting our home number, and both our cell phone numbers and our business numbers. Should you need anything at all, please don't hesitate to call either of us, day or night. Ok?" She finally looked up at me after she stopped writing.

"Ok, I will." I glanced over at the page. It was filled with names and phone numbers.

"The rest of these numbers are of the emergency facilities in the area, and some contacts for the schools in the area to get you back into teaching.

"The apartment is paid for you," Esme blushed slightly. "Carlisle and I are the owners of the building. Your gas and electricity are also paid for as long as you live here." My jaw dropped at this revelation, but Esme continued. "Those are just some of the perks of owning property and renting it out."

She straightened up, and pulled on her rolling suitcase handle, preparing to leave.

"Bella, you take care of yourself, dear," the emotion began seeping into her tone. Tears welled up in my eyes at her words. "And never forget that you are worth so much more than you give yourself credit for. You are a smart, gorgeous, incredibly wonderful person." Esme allowed a few tears to fall at this, causing mine to fall, too. She wiped hers away gracefully and smiled at me with watery eyes. She then dropped the handle of the suitcase and gave me a fierce hug, rubbing my back soothingly as she embraced me.

"Please keep in touch with us, Bella."

I sniffled. "Definitely. Thank you for everything," I said into Esme's hair.

"Think nothing of it."

"And can you give Carlisle a big hug from me, too?" I asked. She stepped away from the hug, but still held onto my arms gently.

"I certainly will."

She turned and gripped the suitcase handle again with one hand while the other hand reached for the door knob.

"Have a safe trip back to Boston," I said as I wiped another tear from my eye. She nodded, not trusting her own voice, and smiled.

With that, I was alone in my new apartment.

I walked over to the window in the living room and watched Esme pack up the rental car and drive off, still wiping tears from her eyes.

I had only known Esme for a few days, but something told me that she and I shared a bond stronger than just one that two people share after a trip across the country. It was as if she always knew exactly what to say to make my anxiety and fear dissipate. Though I had never asked her what she did for a living, I had a feeling that it had something to do with psychology or counselling. Her soothing demeanour and gentle nature was much appreciated during my own personal hard time, so I could only assume that she had daily practice using these personality traits of hers to perfect them so wonderfully.

I walked over to the living room and plopped myself on the sofa, taking with me the notebook she left me. I flipped through the pages, reading over the phone numbers. Beside Carlisle and Esme's respective numbers, there were smiley faces and arrows. The next page of the notebook contained emergency numbers—fire department, police station, hospital—and then a few lines down, Esme had a phone number and a name circled and written over a few times to make it bold. Underneath the number and name, Esme had written:

_- call him for a teaching job at Forks Elementary. _

I read the name on the page and the words following it over and over. I decided instantly what my next course of action would be as a citizen of Forks.

First thing in the morning, I would call Forks Elementary and get my new life started.


	5. Welcome to Forks

**_All characters are property of Stephenie Meyer. She's the creative genius, not me. Please don't sue me. Pretty please?_**

Once again, I thank Meghan for proof reading and giving me feedback to make this story the best I can make it. And for allowing me to talk my ideas through with you. Love you!!

Consider today a special occasion because I will never be able to post two chapters on the same day again, but I slacked a bit on posting these here, so they come all together.

For those of you who have added this story to your alerts, THANKS! But I'm confused because there are less than 20 reviews... strange...

As always, remember our deal. You like, you review. You no like, you review anyway. ^_^

You ready? You ready? Let's get it on, come on! (ala UFC)

* * *

My first day in Forks went by in a blur. The first day without Esme was spent at the local hairdresser, getting a new haircut and colour, and calling the contacts she had left me in order to get back into teaching.

Esme's advice before she left was that I should get a new look; in the off chance that someone who could recognize me came to Forks. I woke up the next morning and called the only hairdresser in town. I then called a taxi and made my way to the salon.

My hair was naturally very dark, so much so that it was practically black. It was also so long that it went past my shoulder blades. I knew I couldn't part with all of my hair so instead I opted to cut it short enough that it reached the tops of my shoulders, and took the shade to a light brown. I also had long layers added to give it more shape. The final product certainly looked better as well as healthier. In addition to my hair the salon also offered to shape my eyebrows, so I agreed to that as well.

My hair was beautiful, my eyebrows were tamed, but best of all, I looked different enough to make me difficult to recognise. It was just hair, but it made a big difference.

When I returned from the hairdresser, my next task at hand was to contact the people Esme had left as contacts to get back into teaching. Because Forks was a small town, they didn't have a lot of schools to choose from, but the two schools I contacted were both looking for teachers. I went to two interviews, but not before reviewing all the documents Carlisle had had created for me. I had to make sure I wouldn't stumble on where I obtained my teaching degree, why I moved to Forks, and so on. I also made sure I boned up on my philosophy of education and my teaching methods, knowing full well that they would ask. They did. And my interviewer, the principal of Forks Elementary school, Meghan Lannigan, hired me on the spot.

My first day was the following Monday. The teacher whose place I was taking had a heart attack three weeks before and the class of 28 students were being bounced and split up between other classes until a permanent replacement could be found. Apparently, not a lot of people were rushing to move to Forks, so they were having a difficult time finding a suitable replacement. This worked out perfectly for me because Forks Elementary was within walking distance of my apartment.

I still had to call Jake, the guy who sold Esme the Bunny—my nickname for the car, because it was too small a car to be called a Rabbit—for my standard transmission lesson, so unless I wanted to stall the car half-way to work, walking would be the best option until I called Jake.

My first day came and went without incident. I was teaching the fourth grade. The children took the whole day to warm up to me; but by the end of the day, they were smiling and laughing. I told them that I had just moved to Forks, and that I needed their help in getting settled in. Almost all of the children opened up to me and we had a class discussion about inclusion and making people feel like they belong. It tied in well with some of my teaching methods, so I was proud of myself for bridging the topic with my own experience.

The first week went by in much the same way as the first day at Forks Elementary. I met some nice people, but I became more attached to my kids than to my colleagues at the school. In all honesty, I felt apprehensive about making more acquaintances than entirely necessary. In the classroom, with my students, I felt like my old self, Marie Huntington. After that final bell rang, however, my tension and fear took over. I walked home as quickly as possible without looking like a paranoid woman, locked the door with the deadbolt and the slide lock—I made a mental note that I needed to add more locks to the door—and made something to eat.

A few times that week, I made canned soup to eat because I was overly tired to cook anything after work. Each time I opened the cabinet to pick out the soup, I fell into a panic because I remembered how James had felt about our cabinets…

"_I want the cans to be in alphabetical order, Marie," he had said early in our marriage. "This promotes order and structure." _

_He had peered into the cabinet after stating his desire for order, and grabbed a can. It had been misaligned and out of alphabetical order. He whipped the can at me with slight force. It bounced off of the flesh on my back as I turned to shield myself just in time. _

_My jaw dropped in shock at the violent act. I knew I would have a bruise where the can had bounced off my skin. _

"_And I need order and structure in this house, Marie," James continued without missing a beat. Tears sprang from my eyes at the stinging pain in my back. I knew there was no use in arguing with James. I nodded. _

_He turned and walked away from me, but not before looking down at me and commenting quietly, "Now clean up this kitchen."_

I knew it was silly to panic over something that would never happen again, but my mind shut down and I slid down to the floor and brought my knees up where I rested my head and willed myself to calm down. Deep, cleansing, breaths. Within ten minutes, my breathing had slowed, and I was feeling a bit more rational.

I stood up and peered into the cabinet I had just thrown open. It was in complete disarray. I couldn't help but grin slightly at the sight. It would be in complete disarray for as long as I saw fit. I was in control of my own house, and that included the cabinets.

I took a swipe at the few cans I had in the cabinet and watched them fall to the ground with a satisfying _thunk_. With another deep breath, I was able to pull myself together and carry on, albeit slightly shaken up.

I knew there was nothing to fear—James was thousands of miles away from me, and completely unaware that I was even alive—but I still felt tense, like it was foolish to let my guard down. This tenseness followed me since I left Boston, and I had a feeling that it wouldn't dissipate just so soon.

Since I didn't have a television, I would turn on the small clock radio after dinner and plan my lessons for the following day while I sat at the kitchen table. By 9pm every night, exhaustion would wear me down and I would try to sleep.

*****

It was Monday of the second week of my new life when I made a call I was both dreading and looking forward to…

I dialled the phone number I had memorized when I was four years old.

1-416…555-8896

A dear and familiar voice came on the phone.

"Hello?"

I lost my voice when my mother answered the phone. My mouth opened, but no sound came out.

"Hello?" she asked again, annoyed.

I cleared my throat.

"I can hear you, so you might as well sell me whatever you need to and get it over with." She sounded like she was so tired of everything. The news of my "death" must have really affected her. I gained some courage at the thought that this phone call would excite her.

"Mom."

Silence.

"I beg your pardon?" she sounded incredulous—like she was about to start yelling at this impostor claiming to be her dead daughter on the phone.

"Mom, it's me." My voice was so quiet that I didn't think she heard me, but then I heard the sound of a sob.

"Marie?"

"Yeah, mom."

Another sob reached my ears. She knew it was me. I didn't have to prove myself. I was relieved that I didn't have to.

"Oh my God, Marie," she said between sniffles. "You're alive! Oh, my sweet little girl! How is this possible? James—"

"Thinks I'm dead, mom. I had to leave. He was going to kill me eventually." Those words made me tremble. I had never actually said them aloud before. "After I lost the baby, he pushed me down the stairs."

"He WHAT?! That unbelievable bastard! He told us you fell down after you got back from the hospital, lost brain function, and slipped into a coma. Charlie was right!"

"What do you mean, mom?"

"Your dad thought he looked too calm and smug to be in mourning."

"Well, now you know why." I had no more words. My dad had always been suspicious of James. Even after my death, he was still suspicious.

"How did you escape, baby?" Mom asked, shaking me out of my thoughts. I could hear the relief dripping from her voice, but also a bit of rage at what my husband had done to me.

"I have two guardian angels that helped me. I can't tell you more than that."

"And where are you? Why don't you come home, Marie? Your bedroom is still exactly the same as you left it."

"I can't, mom. People would recognize me if I came home. If he found out I had faked my death, he wouldn't stop until he found me. I'm sure of it."

She understood.

"Where are you now, sweetheart? Do you need money?"

"No, mom, I don't need money. But I can't tell you where I am. It's safer that way."

"Oh Marie. Your father and I were devastated. He told us that he had your body cremated. He didn't even have a proper funeral for you, sweetheart," she cried. "Just a memorial for our benefit and that of your friends. He did everything so quickly that your father and I barely made it to Boston in time. He was so cold. It was like thought he was doing us a favour by holding a memorial. We didn't even get to see you one last time. He had already had you cremated by the time the memorial came. Wow. That sounds insane," She stopped talking and I could hear her crying loudly on the phone.

"Mom, he was given wood ashes. It wasn't me. I'm fine. I'm safe," I murmured, stating the obvious. "I'm far away from him now. And I'm no longer his wife. My name is Bella Swan."

I heard her sniffle as she took in my words.

"That's beautiful, baby. It suits you."

I looked at the time on the clock radio by my bed. "Mom, I have to go. Is dad home?"

"No, he went to visit some friends in Oakville. He should actually be back soon."

"Can you tell him that I'm ok? I don't want him to freak out any longer than he has to."

"Ok, baby. Oh," Mom paused, and then I heard her yell something. My dad was home. "Sweetie, he's home. Just wait a minute. He's just getting in. Charlie! Come here, quick!" After a moment of silence, I heard a new set of hands pick up the phone.

"Hello?" my father's gruff but gentle voice said.

"Dad," I said quietly, the tears beginning to fall again.

"Renee, what the hell is this?" he asked angrily. I heard my mother tell him to talk and then I heard her sniffle.

"Dad, it's Marie. It's really me. I'm ok."

He gasped loudly. "Marie?! Oh my God. I…can't believe this. You're alive?! My little girl is alive! Renee! This is unbelievable!" He exclaimed with happiness, a fresh set of tears falling from my eyes.

"I know, Dad, but I'm alright. I had to escape. I'm across the country, but I'm safe."

"Thank God, Marie,"

"Oh, Dad, the name is Bella Swan now." I had to smile at my new name. It had really grown on me.

"Hmm. How did you escape? James has connections with all the wrong people. I think he even knows some FBI agents…"

"I had documents made for me. I have an apartment and I even started teaching again!"

My dad being a cop in Toronto didn't help his suspicion. I could hear it in his sighs. He was conflicted.

"That's against the law, Mar—I mean, Bella. I mean, I understand why you did it, baby, but…"

"Dad, I didn't do a thing. Two really wonderful people helped me leave. They arranged everything. I will owe them for their help for the rest of my life."

I heard him sigh and then I heard my mother's comforting voice closer by to the telephone. It sounded as if they were hugging.

"Dad, I have to go, but I just wanted to rest your minds. Please remember that I love you both."

"Ok. We love you, too. Here's your mother."

He handed the phone to Renee.

"Hi, baby. Call us if you need anything at all, ok, sweetie?"

She was so emotional. I wished that I could hug her and reassure her that I was alright. I could only imagine the hell my parents had suffered thinking that their only child had died. My problems seemed miniscule when I thought about their torment.

"I will. I love you, mom."

Again, she sobbed. "I love you, too, sweetheart. Take care, Marie. Oh, I mean Bella."

I smiled. She was trying.

"Bye, mom."

As I hung up, I felt a huge weight lift from my shoulders. Just by speaking to my parents and telling them I was alive and well, my worry had been relieved. The two people in the world I loved more than anything knew that I was ok.

*****

It was exactly a month after Esme returned to Boston that I decided to call Jake to have him teach me how to drive my Bunny. He picked up on the third ring.

"Black's Used Cars, Jake speaking."

"Uh, hi, this is Bella Swan. I came by a few weeks ago with Mrs. Cullen—"

"I remember," he chuckled. "I was wondering when you'd get tired of having the car parked up."

"Well, I was actually hoping that you'd help me get some use out of it."

"Sure! I told you I would." I heard the smile in his voice, comforting me. "So, when are you free for me to teach you?"

I paused, thinking over my schedule. "Well, is this morning a bad time? Or maybe after you close?"

"I can be there in ten minutes. My dad actually co-owns this place. He's here today anyway."

"Oh," I said. "That's fine. Do you know where my apartment is?"

"Mrs. Cullen told me what building it is. I hope you don't mind."

"No, that's fine. It's her building, after all. I just live here."

"Alright, so I'll be there in ten. See ya!" He seemed so excited.

After we hung up, I dressed in jeans and an aquamarine coloured tank top. I slipped on the pair of running shoes Esme had packed for me and left the apartment, making sure I locked the door securely.

As I reached my parking spot, I saw Jake hovering over my car with a proud look on his face. The smile that appeared when he noticed me walking toward him was adorable.

"Hi, Bella." He extended his hand, and I took it. "It's good to see you."

"Thanks, you too."

"So," he patted the top of the car with one big hand. "Shall we begin your lesson?" I nodded and walked toward the passenger seat.

He got in and put on his seat belt. He turned on the car and looked over at me as I put on my seat belt.

"Ok, I know just the place to teach you. You know where Forks High is?" I shook my head. "Ok, well, it has a huge parking lot." I simply nodded. He drove us to the parking lot with a satisfied grin on his face.

Forks High was a big two storey building, much smaller than any of the high schools I had seen in Boston, which usually consisted of three storeys minimum. The brick was a rusty red colour. They had a large front lawn. I imagined students lounging there on a warm spring day after class, or eating their lunches while they sat upon their jackets. It was a warm and inviting school.

We pulled up behind the school and Jake turned to me.

"Ok, Bella. The first thing you need to know is that there are three pedals. This last one here is the one that allows you to change the gears. The other two are the same as an automatic tranny car. This," he wobbled the stick shifter. "Is how you change your gears. Before you can move this, you need to hold down the clutch, which is this pedal. With me so far?"

"Yeah," I said. This much, I knew. I had the distinct feeling that he was dumbing down the terms for me ever so slightly, but I didn't really mind.

"Ok, so watch me as I drive a bit around the parking lot. Watch my feet and my hand."

So I did. He drove around for a few minutes; all the while I watched him and what he did. As he switched gears, he counted. "This is first gear," he said as he put the car into gear. "This is second," he said as he switched again. "And this is third. That's all you'll really need unless you're driving on the freeway," he said as he kicked it into third.

He stopped the car and looked again at me, probably to make sure I understood his teachings.

"Ok, so I'm gonna drive around a little more. Listen to the noise the car makes before I switch gears. It'll be like the car is begging you to switch gears. That's when you absolutely must change gears. Got it?"

I nodded. "That makes sense."

So I listened for it. I heard it, the whine of the engine, almost as if it was in dire need of a gear change.

Finally, it was my turn to drive around this parking lot. The car jerked back and forth the first time I took the wheel, but eventually, within ten minutes of driving in straight lines and then back again, I was no longer stalling the car. My gear shifts came more smoothly each time. Even Jake was impressed.

After fifteen minutes of driving around in the parking lot. Jake told me to pull over and put the car in neutral.

"I think you're ready for the road, Bella."

"Are you sure?"

"Oh, yeah. You got it nailed!" he said excitedly.

And then I found myself driving alongside traffic. Forks was a usually quiet town anyway—nothing like Boston or Toronto in terms of traffic volumes—but it was still intimidating for me at first.

But I got it.

I stalled the car all of two times in my twenty minutes of street driving.

By the end of the lesson, Jake was beaming. I drove us back to my apartment building and parked in the spot the car called home since Esme drove it there.

Jake patted me on the shoulder. "You're ready to take her to work, Bella. Congratulations!"

I couldn't help but be proud of myself. I had always been scared of standard transmissions, but here, in one morning I had conquered my fear and taken control.

"Thanks, Jake. You're a fabulous teacher."

He shook my hand. "If you need any help with the car, or anything else for that matter, don't be afraid to call me, kay? Mrs. Cullen told me that you just moved here from Boston. I know Forks is a little different, but it's a great place to live. There are lots of really nice people here. I could introduce you to some of my friends if you—"

"That's alright," I said a little abruptly. His eyebrows rose slightly at my tone. "Sorry, but I like to keep to myself. Thanks for your help today." I meant that to be the end of the conversation. Jake understood and began walking to his car.

"Ok, see ya 'round, Bella," he called as he got into his car.

I waved and walked back to the building, taking the steps two at a time all the way up to the third floor. Once I was inside the apartment, I locked the doors and took a seat on the sofa, content that I had learned something that seemed daunting to me in such a short period of time.

For the rest of the school year, which was only two more months, I drove my Bunny to school. I felt safer driving home as opposed to walking. It allowed me to get home earlier, and I felt I was way more productive than I had been before.

*****

When the school year was over, I found myself missing my kids, and searching for something else to occupy my time. My salary had already started to accumulate, and I was finally feeling comfortable in this town by myself; but now I was essentially unemployed until September. Three months were going to drag by unless I found a hobby or perhaps a part time job around town.

So, on a hot day in June, I drove into town and parked the car in front of the supermarket. I decided to take a walk to see what I had been missing all these months that I'd been there I'd been cooped up in my apartment for close to 4 months, and I hadn't ventured beyond the grocery store.

I walked down Main Street—strolled, actually—with my hands in my pockets, just taking everything in. I passed a variety store, a pharmacy, a movie rental store, a pizza place, and a scrapbooking store called _Scraps_. I decided to walk into the scrapbooking store and see what they had to offer.

It was bright and colourful inside. The walls were covered with neatly organized shelves holding all sorts of accessories that a _"scrapbooker"_ would require. I had no idea that there were so many different products specific to this hobby, but it intrigued me. I walked closer to the wall to inspect the items closer up.

The clerk, a cute and petite brunette with short, spiky hair greeted me.

"Hi," she called from behind her counter. "Is there anything I can help you with?"

"I'm just admiring your stuff, here. I had no idea scrapbooking was so involved."

She nodded. "Oh, yes, it's a serious pastime. But it can get very expensive."

I was surprised that she was being so honest with me, and not trying to sell me anything. The girl walked around the counter to me.

"I'm Alice, by the way. I thought I knew everyone in town."

"Oh, I moved here a few months ago. I'm Bella."

"It's nice to meet you. If you have any questions about anything, let me know."

"Thanks." I smiled and walked towards some colourful paper that caught my eye.

By the end of my trip to _Scraps_, I had decided that my creativity would be put to good use over the summer and that I would scrapbook. I purchased a small scrapbook, some starter sets of paper with various colourful patterns on them, some stencils, and a set of fun scissors. I spent nearly $100 at _Scraps_, but didn't feel guilty about it at all. After all, I reasoned that I needed creative things for my classes in the fall. I promised Alice—who turned out to be the owner of the shop—that I would return in a few weeks to stock up on more scrapbooking supplies. She smiled and gave me her card, should she not be in the shop when I came in. I had the suspicion that we would be friends after a few more trips to her store.

I put my purchases back in my car and went to the supermarket to do the groceries for the week.

After grocery shopping, I started driving towards the apartment. I pulled out of the parking lot and turned left towards my apartment. The first stop sign I encountered, I decided to look down the street to the right of me, to a street called Cedar Glen Gate. It was residential, and I saw children playing on a few of the front lawns of the houses. Instead of driving straight after making the stop, I decided to turn right to check out the street.

The houses were all roughly 50 years old, but most were well-maintained. There were large, sprawling lawns, some taken over by large trees. This street looked like a street I would love living on. I drove slowly, admiring each house and smiling as I saw the character each possessed. The neighbourhood children seemed to be playing tag because they were running around and tapping each other on the shoulder, laughing the whole while. Some ran around the large trunks of the trees. I couldn't keep my smile down. Some of the parents were sitting on their verandas, watching over their children, drinking their coffees and talking. One family in particular waved at me as I drove by. I waved back and smiled. What a friendly and sweet neighbourhood.

I was about to make a u-turn and go home when I saw an adorable red brick bungalow with a wide front lawn and a wrap-around veranda that had a For Sale sign on the lawn. The unoriginally named realtor, Forks Realty, was selling it. I stopped the car completely as I stared at the house. There was a small garage attached to the left side of the house with a long enough driveway to hold at least three cars. I parked the car by the curb in front of the house and allowed my feet to move me out of the car.

I walked towards the house. It looked as if no one lived there.

My mind suddenly filled with images of me moving in there, parking my car on that driveway, unlocking the door to the house and walking in.

I could live there.

While I was eternally grateful to Esme and Carlisle for all their help, the apartment sometimes made me feel as if I was a kept mistress, with everything paid for her. Now that I was working, I had some money saved up from my first few months of working at Forks Elementary, I could pay my own way. And I wanted to eventually find out how much Esme paid Jake for the car in order to pay her back for it.

They had given me so much. The least I could do was pay them back for some of their trouble.

I grinned like a damn fool and ran back to the car. I pulled out my cell phone and called the number on the For Sale sign. I spoke with the realtor and asked about the house.

"The one off of Main Street," I began. "The bungalow on Cedar Glen Gate."

"That one just went on the market last week. The owner passed away a few months ago, and her children were undecided until last week as to whether they wanted to sell it. It's a bargain, actually. Wonderful condition and fully furnished."

My luck had never been this good. I smiled to myself gratefully.

"I'm here now. Can I see the inside?"

The realtor chuckled. "Certainly. I can be there in a few minutes. Our office is very close by."

"Ok, see you soon."

The realtor came a few minutes later and let me in.

Its interior matched its exterior beautifully. The owner had good taste, and I loved almost everything about it. There were three bedrooms, all quite big, the kitchen had been freshly painted, and there was certain openness about the house. It wasn't overcrowded with furniture or memorabilia. The realtor reminded me that it came as is, the sofas, the fridge, the stove, the washing machine and dryer, the queen sized bed in the master bedroom, the television, the window coverings—everything in the home was included. The children had already taken everything of sentimental value out of the home, so everything else would have just been given away or sold.

I instantly put an offer on it.

The realtor said he'd put the offer in for me, and would call me once he got an answer back. We exchanged numbers and he left to make the offer for me.

I got back into my car and called Esme immediately.

"Hello, Bella! How are things?" she asked enthusiastically.

"Great, Esme. Actually, that's why I wanted to call you. I am so grateful for all your help. So, so grateful, but…"

"What's wrong, dear? We will help you any way you need." Her voice sounded anxious, like she expected something horrible to come from my mouth next.

"Esme, it's nothing bad. Actually, I put in an offer for a house in town." I could have sworn I heard her sigh with relief at that.

"Oh! That's wonderful, dear. It sounds like you're in love with the house." Her comment sounded so maternal, a natural feat for Esme. She always sounded so soothing and reassuring.

"I am. I just wanted to let you know because I know everything is paid for me at the apartment, but I don't want to keep taking advantage of your enormously large heart, or your pockets."

"Bella, you are not taking advantage. Carlisle and I don't believe that at all. We offered to help you, after all. But if you want to move, we certainly are behind you 100%. What street is it on?"

"Cedar Glen Gate, just off of Main St."

"Hmm," she said. It sounded like she giggled, but I couldn't be sure. "I know it well. Great neighbourhood. You'll love it, I think."

"I think so, too. The house is vacant and fully furnished, so I'd move in immediately."

"That's wonderful, Bella—"

Just then, there was a beep. Apparently, my cell phone had call waiting…

"Esme, I have another call. Thanks, by the way, for the call waiting."

She laughed. "No problem. Take the call. I'll be here."

I answered the other call. It was the realtor.

"It's yours," he relayed happily. "Congratulations, Miss Swan!"

"Oh, wow that was fast! Thank you!"

"Come by the office sometime today or tomorrow to sign the documents and I'll give you the keys. We'll help you set up the mortgage for you, too."

"Awesome! Thanks again! I'll be by in a few minutes actually. I'm still in front of the house. See you then!"

I returned to Esme with a squeal. "It's mine!"

"Bella! That's wonderful! Do you need any help, because I'm sure Jake would love to help you out," she mused.

"I think I'll be alright. I still have the rolling suitcase you left me. And I'm driving now, so it would probably only take a trip. I'll leave everything in there for you as you left it."

"Ok, Bella. Leave the key with Mrs. Burke in 104. I'll put it on the market as soon as you move out. Congratulations again, Bella!"

"Thanks Esme! Tell Carlisle that I said hello and thanks again."

I hung up, drove to the realtor's office, and signed the papers.

*****

Moving day was the very next day since the house was vacant. It would take me a bit of time to get used to the house, but I was so excited that I didn't mind moving things around and adjusting things well into the night.

I opened all the windows as I cleaned and rearranged things in my new home. I took all the bed sheets, slip covers, curtains, and table cloths and threw them into the washing machine. Thankfully, they had also left some laundry detergent for me.

The walls were bare except for a few paintings that didn't particularly suit my own tastes. I took them down and brought them into the garage. I would sort those things out afterward.

I started making a list of the things I would need to make this home _really_ mine; I'd need paint, some picture frames, some new bed sheets and a duvet, some blankets, maybe a new slip cover for the sofa, and a new kitchen table and chairs. Maybe even a new set of dishes. These were things that I would buy slowly, though. The first thing on my list was paint, so I made a mental note that I would paint the rooms sooner rather than later. The other things on my list could wait until I had the rooms painted to suit my taste.

By Thursday afternoon, I was done my interior sweep and had turned my focus to cleaning out the garage of remnant boxes and items I wouldn't need.

In the garage there were so many boxes that I attempted to stack them up, one on top of the other. By the end of it, it felt as if I were surrounded by a fortress of boxes of all different sizes. I crouched down to peer into the first box. It was a box full of tools, the use for which I could not determine. I stood up and stretched my back carefully after having been crouched for so long.

As I stood up, I felt a presence behind me. I was overcome with dread, but I knew I had to turn around to face whoever it was that was standing behind me.

"There you are," a voice called from behind me.

I spun around slowly and felt my jaw dropped to the floor.


	6. Anxiety

_**All characters are property of Stephenie Meyer. She's the creative genius, not me. Please don't sue me. Pretty please?**_

Once again, I thank Meghan for proof reading and giving me feedback to make this story the best I can make it. And for allowing me to talk my ideas through with you. Love you!!

So, here is the answer to everyone's question: Who said that?! Hope you enjoy, and that I wasn't entirely transparent...enjoy!

* * *

Before me stood a man with a face only God Himself would have the power to create.

I actually blushed just looking at him.

He was about 6'1 and slim. He had messy bronze brown hair and the most stunning green eyes I had ever seen before. They were expressive, and they reminded me of someone, though I couldn't put my finger on who. He looked no older than me. His blue Lacoste short sleeved golf shirt and dark blue jeans looked like they had been designed and tailored for him exactly.

"Hi," my voice allowed me to reply quietly after I picked up the box I had just dropped.

"I didn't mean to scare you," he apologised. "Just moved in, I see," the gorgeous man commented, tilting his head towards the boxes.

"Yes, on Sunday."

He stepped closer to me and put his hand out to shake. "I'm Edward," he said, his smile dazzling me.

I took his hand slowly and shook it back, shifting the box in my hands to my hip. "Bella."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Bella." He pointed to the house directly across the street. "I live in that one."

"With your wife?" I blurted. What possessed me to ask THAT?

"Nope, no wife, no girlfriend, no kids—just my dog, Bolt, and me." He looked a bit flustered, like he'd just provided far too much information. I was happy that he had for some reason.

"Oh, I see. How long have you lived on this street?"

"All my life, actually. My family decided to move out, and I loved the house so much that I wanted to stay."

"Wow."

He ran a hand through his tousled hair, mussing it further. "Yeah. I know. Kinda lame."

"Not at all. It's sweet, actually. Lots of memories in that house, right?"

He nodded, smiling wistfully. "Oh yeah. It's kind of a big house for just one person, but I figure that it'll be the perfect size when I find the right girl and settle down. For now, though, Bolt has his own bedroom." He laughed and I had to join him.

Edward paused for a second and then looked over my shoulder to the boxes I still had to go through.

"Hey, did you need any help?" he asked, hitching a thumb in the direction of the boxes. "That looks like a lot to go through."

"Uh, I don't know. I wouldn't want to waste your evening…"

He waved his hand. "Not at all. I was just going to take Bolt for his walk and call it a night, anyway. You would be saving me from a boring evening."

Edward was an easy person to talk to. I really felt like saying no, but when I looked into his handsome face, I couldn't find the heart to say no. Instead, I nodded and turned back to the box. I lifted it and handed it to him.

"Could you go through this box and pull out everything that's in it? These were here when I moved in, and I want to get rid of anything I don't need or won't use."

"Sure," he said with a smile.

After three and a half hours of sorting, we had all the boxes emptied, and the driveway filled with useful stuff—well, useful to someone else besides me. I was no mechanic, and I didn't need an air compressor or a socket wrench set.

Edward wiped some sweat from his forehead and smiled. "Wow, Bella, you can have a garage sale with all this stuff!"

I smiled as I looked over the assortment of useful things on my driveway. Well, these were useful things for someone else. He had a good point.

I laughed. "You're right," I looked around me. "I _should_ have a garage sale with all this stuff."

He seemed proud of himself for suggesting it. "You could make a killing with all of this, really." He crouched down to survey a few items closest to his feet. He picked up a Frisbee lying on an old bike tire and brought it closer to his face to inspect it.

"Hmm. Actually, I'll be your first buyer. How much you want for this Frisbee? Bolt would love it."

I shook my head. "There's no way I'd charge you for a Frisbee. You helped me clean out all these boxes, for Pete's sake! Take it and anything else you want from this stuff. Please," I added. "Less stuff for me to try and sell."

He nodded and grinned. "Thanks, Bella." He looked pensive for a second. His smile returned and he twirled the Frisbee in his hand once before speaking. "I'm glad I played the nosy neighbour today and met you."

I felt the warmth in my cheeks rising again. Edward must have seen this, because his smile grew.

"Me too," I mumbled embarrassedly, knowing full well that I was blushing again in front of an almost complete stranger. Just then, Edward looked down at his watch, which I noticed looked entirely too expensive for an everyday watch. Its face gleamed in the sunlight.

"Well, Bella, it's been great, but duty calls. My shift starts in about an hour."

"Oh, well, thanks so much for your help today," I replied, extending my hand to him. He took my hand and the most amazing smile graced his face, a sincere and heartfelt smile. It almost made my hand shake at the contact.

"It was my pleasure. I'll see you around, Bella."

I watched him walk across the street towards his home. It was considerably larger than mine, but still had the same sort of charm that most of the houses on this street possessed. It wasn't a bungalow that was for sure. There were large windows on either side of the double door entrance. On the driveway, a shiny silver car was parked. It looked incredibly new, but from so far away, I couldn't tell what make it was.

I internally scolded myself for watching him leave, and turned back to the stuff we had spent all afternoon digging through. I began bringing it all into the garage and laying it on the ground. I decided that I would hold that garage sale in two days, on Saturday.

After I put everything away, I made myself a bowl of chicken soup and walked towards my room with a smile on my face.

I grabbed the edges of my dryer-fresh sheets to turn them down when I was hit with a flashback of my previous life, causing me to tremble with fear…

_We had just moved into the house in the suburbs. I always thought it was too big for only the two of us, but James had insisted that we had a reputation to uphold—or at least we _would eventually _have one. He was still sweet then, and his violent tendencies were still dormant when we moved in...at least until a few nights in._

_Our second night in the new house was busy because we had finally finished moving everything where we'd wanted it, and now we were in the process of decorating. By 10pm, James and I were both exhausted. _

_I took a shower first, washing my hair meticulously and conditioning it thoroughly before stepping out and drying off. _

_I walked into our bedroom and turned down the sheets. I went to comb my hair and put it into a tight ponytail when James came in and saw the bed turned down._

"_What's this?" he asked with a glare in my direction. I turned to look at him while I was still tying my ponytail up. _

"_What?" I asked innocently, confused by his tone. _

_He grabbed the sheets on the bed. "This," he pulled the sheets clean off the bed, startling me. "I told you I want everything to match on the bed. Everything. Even the pillowcases. It looks sloppy and it's in poor taste to mix them up."_

"_The others are in the wash, James. They got dirty in the moving box. Besides, I didn't think it mattered."_

_He glared at me again, throwing the sheets on the floor by my feet. "It matters. Now, find the correct sheets and make the bed right." He turned and left the room, only returning after I had done as he had commanded._

_At the time, I thought he was just having a bad day, so I didn't really think much of it. _

_Until it happened again. _

_Three weeks after we moved in, I had needed to change the sheets after a full night of lovemaking. Absentmindedly, I made the bed up using the everyday sheets, and used different pillow covers. That night, James yanked me out of bed, pulled all the sheets off, and slapped me. _

_He threatened to do worse the next time if it wasn't done right. _

_A few days later, he apologised for his outburst, saying that he wanted things done right. _

_But I never forgot his threat. Every time I needed to change the sheets, I made damn sure that all the corresponding sheets, pillow covers, shams, and the like were clean. _

The sheets in my hand were mismatched. Even the pillow cases were different colours. The patterns on the sheets seemed to tremble along with my hands at the thought of what James would do if he saw this chaos.

A quiet sob ripped through my body as I pulled the sheets off of the bed and tossed them to the floor. The comforter, the pillows, and the bed skirt joined the sheets shortly after.

My sobs grew louder as the initial fear wore off and I realized that James was _still_ controlling my life, even though he had no idea I was alive. His obsessive compulsive tendencies turned him into a violent creature who demanded perfection, control, and power at every chance he got.

I hadn't been his wife, an equal partner in what we called marriage. I had been a trophy, a glorified servant to his obsessions.

For the first time since I had moved to Forks, I sobbed not only because of what I had lost, but also for what he was still holding over me, even now. Even as I went through my daily routines, went grocery shopping, paid my bills, drove my own car, woke up in my own bed alone, his hideous side haunted me and terrified me. What if I never healed from his abuse? What if this break down became a regular occurrence? What would be the point of faking my death, forging documents, changing my name, if he still controlled my existence?

I climbed up onto the now bare bed slowly, curling up into a ball and concentrated on the sound of my breathing. Tears were still falling from my eyes, but they were slowing down considerably.

That night, I cried myself to sleep for what I suspected wouldn't be the last time.

*****

Saturday morning was about as sunny as Forks had been since I lived there, which did wonders for my garage sale. I set up everything on the lawn on blankets that I was going to be giving to charity anyway, and put a big sign up advertising the garage sale and that the prices were all negotiable.

I hadn't seen Edward since Thursday when he helped me clean out the garage. Every so often during the garage sale, I'd look out towards his house to see if he was home—evidence that I really needed to get a hobby—but his car was never there. I found myself wondering what Edward did for a living seeing as how he was never home. Or perhaps he was parking his car in the garage so that people thought he wasn't home.

But why would he go to those lengths?

And why was I thinking about this?

I scolded myself once again and went back to selling my wares.

The garage sale went extremely well. I met some of my neighbours and their children. One of the couples, the Marins, invited me to a barbeque they were hosting on the 4th of July, which was only in a week. I told them I didn't know if I'd attend, but that I would try to make myself available for that night. I knew that I would probably end up going.

I sold almost everything, and only had a box of knick-knacks to throw out because they were too old for anyone to use besides a collector of antiquities. By 5pm, I had the lawn cleared of everything and was preparing to make a cup of coffee. My plan was to sit on my veranda for the first time, with a steaming cup of coffee in my hand, to just breathe deeply and relax.

After the coffee was made, I walked out with my mug and sat on the two-seater chair I had bought at the hardware store. It reclined ever so slightly, which gave me an easy feeling. I took a sip of my coffee.

Tucking my legs under me, I suddenly came to the realization that things were good. Things were finally where they needed to be for me. Despite the fear and anxiety at my flashback a few nights prior, I felt a sense of relief and contentment because I was safe, I was sitting in front of my own house, and I had nothing to worry about except for what to make for dinner.

James couldn't control me.

Not here.

Not anymore.

As I sat there thinking, I saw a silver car pull up and park on Edward's slightly inclined driveway. It was the same car I had seen on his driveway before, so it had to be him. Sure enough, out of the car came that gorgeous man who just happened to be my neighbour.

He pulled out two brown paper bags from the trunk and walked into the house. I could have sworn that he turned his head ever so slightly to look in my direction, but he made no indication that he had done so because he kept walking. He disappeared into the house and closed the door.

I looked back down into my coffee mug and inhaled the caffeine-filled vapours of my coffee. I took another sip and leaned further back into my chair. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the breeze that began sweeping over me. The sun had beat down on Forks all day that a breeze was more than welcome.

"Bella?" a smooth voice called from a distance. It was my beautiful neighbour, Edward. I opened my eyes to see him walking up my driveway to my veranda. He had his hands in his pockets and looked incredible. His hair was a cute mess, like he had been running his hands through it over and over.

I sat up straight in the chair and smiled at him. "Hi there," I called to him.

He took the first two steps of the landing and smiled back, putting his left hand on the railing. "Hi. How did the garage sale go today?"

I blushed at the fact that he had paid enough attention to know that it had been today.

"It went great actually. Sold practically everything. Met a lot of people. I was even invited to the Marin's barbeque on the 4th of July."

"Really? That's awesome," Edward replied, looking happy that I was invited. "Their barbeques are always great. Tom makes a mean steak."

"I assume you're going too, then?" I stated more than asked. He nodded.

"Yep. So you'll know at least three people there,," he laughed, then looked slightly uncomfortable.

What was the reason he came by again?

"So," I began. "What's going on?"

"Oh, well, I was going to ask you if you wanted to…uh…have dinner with me. I made a lasagne, but I figured that since you lived by yourself—well, I assumed you did, anyway—you might like to join me…you know, because it would be such a waste…" he trailed off.

My goodness, he was nervous. He looked like he wasn't used to being nervous. It was actually very adorable.

I smiled back at him for the kind offer.

My inner instincts told me that this was safe. This was ok. Edward was being genuine. But how often had my instincts about men been wrong in the past? I thought James was sincere and sweet in the beginning, too, hadn't I?

"I don't know…"

Edward looked confused. "I know we don't know each other very well, but maybe we can change that." He didn't sound sleazy or underhanded; he sounded like he wanted to make a friend.

I sighed.

"How about you bring over the lasagne and we eat it out here. It's going to be such a nice evening that it would be a shame to waste it indoors," I explained, hoping he couldn't see through me. I wasn't comfortable being in private with him; I barely knew him. This way, we were technically out in public...

He nodded. "A porch picnic. Sounds good. I'll be back in ten minutes with the food. It's meat, by the way. I hope that's fine," he mentioned. I nodded.

"No worries on that one. I'm a _meat-atarian_," I nearly giggled as I replied. He grinned at my new word.

"Nice. So am I. Alright, I'll be back in ten minutes, then."

He turned towards his house, running across the street and disappearing once again through his front door.

While he was gone, I sped inside the house to grab what I needed to help him carry out this porch picnic, as he had called it. I grabbed a folding table that the previous owner had left in the garage and brought it to the veranda. I set it in front of my two-seater and ran back into the house to grab a couple of throws, some utensils, napkins, plates, a serving spoon, and two cans of Coke. By the time I reached the veranda after having fetched all that, Edward was already walking up the driveway with a tray covered in tin foil. He was wearing white oven mitts, which made me giggle. I knew he had cooked, but to see him with oven mitts on his hands was a sight to see indeed. He appeared like he was completely comfortable with them on, like they weren't a symbol of the traditional female role.

As he walked up the stairs to the veranda, I caught a whiff of what was beneath the tin foil and my mouth instantly watered.

"Wow, that smells amazing," I commented as he placed the tray upon the table and uncovered the foil to reveal his masterpiece.

"Yeah, I know. It's my mom's special recipe. The secret is in the sauce."

I suddenly felt an urge to ask Edward about his mother, so, instead of filtering my feelings before they reached my mouth, I said, "Tell me about your mother." It didn't come out as a question as I had hoped, though. It almost sounded like a gentle command. He smiled anyway, thankfully.

"Mom is great. She's an interior decorator by trade, but she is unbelievable in the kitchen." He sat down beside me and took the serving spoon in his hand to dish out the lasagne for the both of us, which I found very thoughtful. After he served us both, he reached for the Coke can before him and opened it, smiling gratefully at me as he did so.

"She and dad moved out east a few years ago, and took her amazing food with her. I only hope I can live up to her cooking standards someday," he mused, placing a hand over his heart in salute.

I took my first bite of the concoction before me and sighed as I did so. It was a perfect blend of cheese, ground beef, vegetables, and lasagne pasta noodles. I was absolutely positive that it was the best lasagne I had ever had in my life. After I cleared my mouth, I took a sip of my Coke and turned towards Edward, who was already chewing.

"Amazing doesn't cover it. It's delicious."

He smiled, looking as if he were relieved to hear those words come from my mouth.

"I'm glad to hear it," he said before taking another forkful of lasagne to his mouth. "So," he said at length. "What about your mom? Tell me about her."

I smiled, thinking about my two biggest fans back in Toronto.

"Well, she and my dad live in Toronto, where I am originally from."

"Really? Wow, you're a Canuck, eh?" he teased, attempting to imitate the accent all us Canadians seemed to have. I rolled my eyes at the joke.

"Like I haven't heard that horrible rendition of our supposed accent before. Americans are so predictable," I scoffed, making sure I put a sarcastic twist to my voice. I certainly didn't want him hating me because I was bashing Americans. I actually loved almost everything about this country. Sure, I had stayed in Boston because James had put his foot down on the subject, but I had grown to love that city, and I was starting to really enjoy Forks, now, too. Edward seemed to take my teasing in stride and smiled apologetically.

"Sorry. I'm sure we sound different to you, too," he commented.

"Actually, I've lived in the States for some time now, so I've become desensitized to it," I laughed.

"So why did you move to the States?" he asked before taking a sip of his Coke.

"To get my Master's of Education. I'm an elementary teacher." Good aversion of the truth, I thought.

"Really? That's a great job. It must be very rewarding for you, right?" He just seemed so interested in everything that I was telling him that I couldn't stop myself from answering truthfully and in detail. The look in his eyes when I told him that I was a teacher was adorable; he was enthralled by my story of moving to the States to fulfill my dream of becoming a teacher.

"It is. I'm so comfortable around kids, and I love to help them learn to the best of their own abilities. It makes me feel like I'm making a difference for the future," I added, feeling the warmth in my cheeks rising again. What was it with this man and inadvertently making me blush?

"That's great, Bella," he said enthusiastically.

"What about you? What do you do?" I asked, feeling a lot more comfortable with Edward as our conversation wore on.

He ran his hand through his hair and said, "I'm actually doing my residency at Forks Community Hospital in town."

My jaw dropped. "As in, residency to become a doctor? Wow."

He chuckled. "Yeah, that's most people's reaction when I tell them that."

"Well, I didn't mean anything by it," I began, flustered.

He held up his hand. "No, I know," he reassured. "I only meant that people think I'm way too young to be a doctor."

"How old _are _you?" I asked, taking the last forkful of lasagne to my mouth.

"I'll be 27 in December."

"Wow. I'll be 27 in September." Edward grinned.

"Mental note taken," he said quietly with a smile, tapping his temple. He took another swig of his Coke and leaned back in the chair, looking at his empty plate. He looked up at me and grinned yet again.

"Seconds, Bella?" he asked, reaching for the serving spoon. I nodded, and he put another helping of the wonderful-smelling lasagne on my plate.

We ate our second plateful of lasagne in near silence, smiling at each other every so often. The silence wasn't a bad thing; it wasn't charged with anger, or fear, or hatred like I had been accustomed to in my former life. I breathed a sigh of relief at this thought. Things were different here in Forks. I left _that _life behind in Boston, and I was never going back to it again.

"Bella?" Edward's soothing voice pulled me back from my thoughts. I must have spaced out, because he was waving his hand in front of my face and calling my name.

"You alright? You looked like you were in serious thought there," he commented, a hint of concern touching his expression.

"Sorry, I was. But it's fine," I looked down at my plate, then to his. I picked both of them up and stood up.

"Thank you so much for dinner. It was delicious," I said as I turned to walk into the house. Edward jumped up and put his hands on the plates over top of mine.

"Let me help you clean up."

"No, no," I stammered. "I've g-got it." I balanced the plates and the empty cans of Coke on one hand and tried to swing open the screen door to get into the house, but Edward was there. He held the door open for me, looking rather bashful at his inability to help me.

"Are you sure I can't help you with those?" he tried again. I shook my head and walked into the house. I put them in the kitchen and walked back out quickly. Edward was standing with his hands in his pockets waiting for me. When I got there, he looked up at me thoughtfully.

"So, I was wondering if you'd like to take a walk with me. You know, to help with digestion," he smirked playfully. It sounded like a great idea, considering the sun was still up and I was nowhere near sleepy. Plus, I was finding it hard to say no to this man, but I got up the courage to say it.

"I think I'll stay in tonight," I began, thinking of a reason why. Nothing came to mind. Edward's face fell.

"Oh, are you sure?" He came up slightly closer to me, looking down slightly at me. "I had a good time eating with you, and to be honest, I don't want the night to end just yet." He smiled at me, showing me that his intentions were pure, but I still needed to refuse.

"I did, too, but I'd still rather not. I'm sorry," I began to walk back toward my front door. I couldn't stand to see the look of disappointment I knew rested upon Edward's face, so I turned to my door, pulled the handle, said a quick 'thank you for dinner' and 'goodbye', and disappeared into the house.

I washed the dishes quickly, setting them on the counter to dry, and headed to prepare myself for bed, all the while hoping to God that I hadn't just appeared to be the biggest bitch in Forks. Edward had only been nice and neighbourly to me, even going so far as to bring me dinner to ease the tension between us. What do I do in return? Practically slam the door in his face.

Some part of me was cursing at the refusal, while another part of me was praising my strength of will to call it a night.

A bigger part of me, however, was screaming out at me to allow Edward a chance to prove himself.

It was the same part of me that found something incredibly familiar about him with every conversation we had.

Something told me that it would be safe to be friends with him.

For now, we'd have to see how things went on their own.

That is, if he even forgave me after the debacle after dinner tonight.


	7. The 4th of July BBQ

**_All these characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. I'm just borrowing them...don't sue me. Pretty please?_**

_Thanks again to my beta, Meghan, and for those of you who reviewed. It means a lot to me to know that you're enjoying the story..._

_Onward!!_

* * *

As a Canadian, the Fourth of July never held much meaning to me as a kid. Canada Day, on the other hand, was a holiday that I looked forward to with almost as much passion and excitement as Christmas. My parents and I would drive down to Lakeshore Road in downtown Toronto, bringing some blankets and some lunch, and have a full-day picnic as we watched the fireworks explode beyond Lake Ontario. I remembered Canada Day as a family day; a day when Charlie wasn't just a cop, and Renee wasn't just a free-spirited travel agent. The time we spent together was priceless; they would help me fly my homemade kite, we would run around and play tag, and sometimes we'd sit together and play word games when we got too tired for anything else.

After I moved to Boston, I tried to make the Fourth of July mean the same thing to me that Canada's birthday meant, but since I assumed I would be coming back to Canada after my four year degree was done, I didn't put as much effort as I would have if I'd known then that I was staying.

When I become Mrs. Huntington, I tried to renew my attempts at making the holiday meaningful to me because by then I intended on staying, but they became marked by traumatizing events—James would want to stay in and celebrate in his own way with me, whether I wanted to or not.

Forks was the beginning of a new life for me, so I woke up the morning of July 4th with a renewed sense of hope and confidence, wanting to make this holiday mean to me what it meant to all American citizens: freedom.

I opened my closet and found something slightly patriotic to wear. I slipped on a red fitted t-shirt and dark jean Capri pants. I tied up my hair unceremoniously in a high ponytail and set to work on making a cheesecake to bring over to the Marin's neighbourhood barbeque.

When I arrived at my neighbour, Tom Marin's house, it looked as if a truck delivering American flags and paraphernalia had crashed on his front lawn. There were stars, and red, blue and white streamers strewn everywhere. There were about ten neighbourhood people in various little groups conversing on the front lawn with plastic cups in their hands and beyond them, the backyard gate was open so I could see that there were a lot more people in the backyard. I smiled as I passed the people on the front lawn, and made my way towards the backyard with my homemade cheesecake in hand.

As I stepped into the backyard, I instantly recognised the face of my host, Tom, and his wife, Linda. They were talking animatedly with a few of their friends as Tom stood before a very heavy-duty looking grill, flipping burgers. He wasn't immune to the patriotic wares; around his wide form was an American flag apron. I waved at him and he smiled at me.

"Bella! Glad you could make it! Happy Fourth of July!" he called to me amicably, handing the burger flipper to his wife. "Guys," he looked over at a few people around him and motioned to me. "This is the newest addition to Cedar Glen Gate, Bella." I waved demurely at them after I deposited my cheesecake on a table already overflowing with goodies. Tom introduced me to everyone in the backyard, for which I was grateful. As he approached the last small group of guests, I immediately recognised Edward's tousled bronze hair. He had his back towards me and was talking to a big burly guy and a gorgeous blonde.

Edward and I hadn't seen each other since our porch picnic and the subsequent awkwardness I caused when I refused to take a walk with him. He hadn't stopped by, though I saw his car on the driveway more than I had the previous week. I wondered if he was angry with me that I hadn't agreed to go for the walk. Had he forgotten? I had acted so inappropriately that day. He had just asked to go for a walk, and I practically slammed the door in his face. I was determined that I had to apologise for my rudeness if I got the chance today. If he hated me, at least I was going to apologise for being a bitch and let him get on with his life.

So many more thoughts flooded my brain, but I was thrown off my train of thought when Tom's voice called out.

"Hey guys, I wanted to introduce Bella. She just moved in last week," he motioned to the big, muscular guy. "This is Emmett," Tom then motioned to the strikingly gorgeous blonde that knocked my own self-confidence down by ten points just by standing there. "This is his wife, Rosalie." Tom was about to point to Edward when Edward smiled at me and said, "We've met, Tom."

Well, at least it appeared that he had either forgotten the incident, or he had forgiven me for it…

Tom chuckled. "Alright, Ed. Well," Tom turned back to me. "I think that's everyone. I hope you have a good time. And feel free to ask Linda or me if you need anything at all, alright?" I nodded and smiled politely at him.

"Thanks a lot, Tom." He nodded and walked back to the grill that his wife had taken over until his return.

"So, Bella," I heard a booming but friendly voice calling. I turned and realised it was the big guy with Edward and the blonde. "You moved into Mrs. Moore's old place, did you?" I recalled seeing that name on the papers when I signed for the house. I nodded slowly.

"How do you like it?" Emmett was very friendly. Even though he looked intimidating, his voice and smile showed he was being genuine. All the while, I could feel the blonde, Rosalie's eyes glaring at me, burning a hole in my cheek. It was a jealous or suspicious glare, but what could she possibly be jealous of? Had she ever seen herself in the mirror??

Edward, on the other hand, had a slight smile planted on his face as Emmett asked me about my experience on Cedar Glen Gate.

"It's been nice so far." My voice sounded so quiet in comparison to Emmett's.

"It's a great neighbourhood. Rose and I live just a few houses down from there," he motioned to the left with his big hand. "And my big brother here, Eddie," he turned his face towards Edward. "He lives across from you."

"Brother?" I squeaked. And big brother, at that. The irony. It was actually kind of comical, because Emmett was at least a foot taller than his brother.

Edward rolled his eyes and nodded. "Yep," he smirked at Emmett. "This is my annoying kid brother. 2 years younger. The one who I've repeatedly asked not to call me 'Eddie'." To this, Emmett just stuck his tongue out at Edward in true sibling style.

"I said the same thing when I met Emmett," a feminine voice piped up beside Emmett. It was Rosalie, looking up at Emmett. She then glanced over to me with a slight grin.

"So, what brings you to Forks, Bella?" Rosalie questioned, a hint of suspicion lacing her tone.

I was caught off-guard with the question. "Well, uh, I was told Forks Elementary was in need of a teacher, so—"

"Oh? By who?" Rosalie asked again rather abruptly.

"A friend of mine. She used to live—"

"I thought I knew everyone in town. No one I know has moved away from Forks except for—"

"Rosie, knock it off," Emmett retorted, cutting my answer off. He looked at me apologetically. Edward stepped in front of Rosalie and gently touched my arm, saving me from the chaos that might have ensued.

"Let's take a peek at what Tom's grilling," he said loud enough for Emmett and Rosalie to hear. Silently, I walked by his side, not knowing where we were going, because Tom was no longer at his grill. Edward and I walked towards the edge of the fence furthest from the house. We reached the fence and Edward turned toward me, wearing the same apologetic smile that Emmett had shot at me. They really _were _brothers.

"I'm sorry about my sister-in-law. She doesn't really like it here in Forks, and gets suspicious when she hears that someone else has chosen this town for a home of their own free will." I nodded, understanding what she meant, but still not liking the fact that I was grilled by a near stranger.

Edward had that thoughtful look on his face again. He sighed. "Listen, Bella, I'm sorry about last Saturday. It was rude of me to assume you'd be interested in…well, in me." He looked almost embarrassed at this admission.

"No, Edward, I need to apologise to you. I was completely out of line." I tried to think of some other words to add to that, but none came to mind. I certainly didn't want to burden him with my trust issues. "After all, it was just a walk," I smiled brightly at him when I noticed that he wasn't angry or upset. "Right?"

He scratched his chin for a moment before smiling at me. "Right," he chuckled. "Maybe can we start over?"

I nodded, unsure of what he meant by starting over.

"So, let's enjoy the Fourth of July together." He motioned toward the groups of people around the yard.

I smiled and nodded, relieved at how well things had been fixed between us. "That sounds good."

*****

The Marin's front yard was big enough that they could safely set off some fireworks. The amount of guests still in attendance hadn't decreased by very many people. By my count, there were still over 25 people including Edward, Emmett, his wife Rosalie, and myself. Most of the guests were sprawled out on the lawn, lying on blankets, chatting comfortably.

As the sun began to set, the distant squeal and pop of fireworks being set in neighbouring streets began to fill the air. Some of the guests' children were running excitedly with sparklers in their hands, drawing patterns in the air and laughing.

I hadn't thought of bringing a blanket to sit on—or to wrap myself in—but Edward had. He stretched out the thick blue blanket and placed it on the lawn beside Emmett and Rosalie.

We sat side by side, enjoying the silence and the lack of attention afforded us. Emmett was too busy wrapped up with Rosalie under a big red blanket that they hadn't spoken to us in over fifteen minutes.

We watched as Tom began setting up for the fireworks in front of us, digging small holes to put the firework tubes in securely. He looked like he'd done this more than just a few times; every hole he created for each tube was precise, and evenly spaced out.

"Happy Canada Day," a quiet voice said beside me. I turned my head towards Edward to see him grinning at me.

"What?"

"Well, it was a few days ago, but I forgot to wish you a happy Canada Day. All this American patriotism must be getting on your nerves," he added. Actually, it was really nice.

"Not at all. I'm an American citizen, too, you know," I commented with a giggle. "But thank you. I do miss Toronto." I felt my face turn down in a frown. Edward's head tilted ever so slightly.

"I've never been."

"It's a unique city. It's beautiful and exciting and alive," I said, a hint of nostalgia in my voice. "I miss seeing the CN Tower everyday. Some people live there all their lives and never check it out. I've been about twelve times. I even did the World Wildlife Fund CN Tower Climb a few times."

Edward was shocked. "I never took you for a daredevil!"

I had to laugh. "It's just a name. We climb all 1773 steps inside the CN Tower to raise money. It would be hell for someone who is claustrophobic, though."

He looked incredibly relieved. "Oh, thank God. You had me worried there," he said, his face relaxing back to its normal glory. "Either way, I'd love to see it in person someday," Edward commented, looking up at the sky. The sun had finally set. Tom and Linda had some garden lights lining their driveway and up towards the backyard, so we had just enough light around us.

I nodded and pulled my legs up to me. I hugged my knees and shivered slightly at an errant breeze that caught me by surprise. Edward noticed and pulled out another blanket. He wrapped it around the both of us and held the ends tightly in front of us. I looked up at him and smiled gratefully.

"You really thought of everything, didn't you?"

"You're a newbie to the Marin's barbeques. I didn't expect you to remember a blanket or two."

"And you knew that I was coming?" I asked as one eyebrow rose playfully.

"Well, I hoped. I didn't know how to apologise for my forwardness, so I avoided you all week and prayed that you'd be up for the barbeque after all," he chuckled. "Lucky for me, you came."

I realized that we were suddenly shoulder to shoulder under the blanket. The feeling of his skin was warm and welcome. My mind cried out for me to move away slightly, but the rest of me couldn't resist how it felt to be this close to him.

He made no move to slink away from my touch either.

There was no denying that I was attracted to him, or that he was attracted to me for whatever reason, but I couldn't start a relationship with him; not when I was so damaged, so paranoid, so scared. It wouldn't be fair to him. I doubted that I could be the kind of woman he needed.

Suddenly, Tom began setting off his fireworks on the lawn. The flashes of light and whistles as the fireworks zoomed through the air startled me and I instinctively moved even closer to Edward's side. He must have acted upon instinct too, because I instantly felt his arm around my shoulder.

"It's alright, Bella," he murmured in my ear, his warm breath sending chills up and down my spine. I could feel his thumb rubbing my arm slowly, like he was relishing the feeling of his arm there almost as much as I did. And I did.

I loved feeling his comforting arm around me.

And it suddenly terrified me that I loved it.

I stood up straight, the blanket falling at our feet, and began running back to my house. Everyone around was enthralled with the fireworks display that they didn't notice my hasty escape.

I was only a few houses away from mine when I heard Edward calling out to me.

"Bella! Wait!" he cried. I could tell that he'd catch up to me pretty soon, because his footfalls were growing louder.

I reached my house and stopped running. I turned around to see Edward had already caught up to me. He was a few feet away from me with a confused look on his face.

"Bella, talk to me," he begged. "Tell me what's wrong. Please."

I sucked in a breath and let it out. I thought about what I had endured over the last six months and immediately felt tears in my eyes. I let out that breath and shook my head.

"I can't," I cried. "I just can't."

Edward took another few steps toward me until he was right in front of me, looking down at me with confusion and concern.

"Try me, please. I want to be your friend." He was practically begging me now.

"I can't," I repeated, burying my face in my hands. Edward pulled my hands from my face and asked, "What are you afraid of, Bella?" He brushed a hand on my cheek and wiped the tears from it with his thumb.

I couldn't believe how unbelievably understanding and concerned Edward was for me. He acted as if he didn't care that I was completely irrational, crying and running for no reason. He just wanted to make me feel better and get to know me.

"Please, Bella, tell me what's got you so scared," he tried once more, releasing my face. His voice soothed me. My sobs quieted and I took another deep breath.

I could talk to him.

I couldn't tell him the _whole _truth, but I could talk to him.

The look in his expressive eyes told me that he really wanted to help me with whatever my problem was. Concern and worry creased his brow.

I gave up.

I walked up the stairs and took a seat in the two-seater on the veranda. I patted the space beside me for him to sit there. He took his seat silently and watched me with careful eyes. I searched his face for where to begin telling a cleaned-up version of my story. Edward turned his body toward me and watched me attentively.

"You're right. I am afraid," I admitted steadily. "I was in an abusive marriage." That was safe enough.

"Oh God, Bella. I'm so sorry," he started, but I held up my hand.

"Don't be. You couldn't have known," I said, shaking my head. "I moved to Forks to get away from him."

Edward looked extremely worried. "He doesn't know you're here?"

"No, he doesn't. He'd never look for me in such a small town." That was true enough. I glanced at Edward's face, and it was incredibly miserable, like I had told him that I was dying or something.

"Edward, please don't be upset. I'm safe here."

His eyes met mine and his sadness was replaced by surprise. "You're comforting _me_?" he smiled. "I should be comforting you for everything you've been through."

"But why are you so sad?"

"My mother went through the same thing. I know she thinks I don't know, but my father told me. It was before they were married," he sighed, sinking further into his seat. "It kills me to know that there are men out there who act so barbarously. And to know that someone actually hurt someone as wonderful as my mother, and now you…" he trailed off, looking a bit embarrassed.

"I'm sorry about your mother's experiences. I guess I shouldn't have told you—"

"No, Bella. Stop apologising. You didn't do anything wrong. I'm the one who's sorry," he said quietly. "Now I understand why you ran. Thank you for trusting me with your story."

"Thank you for caring enough to ask."

Edward reached for my hand but stopped mid-way. He looked conflicted.

"It's alright," I said quietly. No further words were said at that moment. He reached over and took my hand in his, rubbing his thumb along the back of my hand in much the same way that he had before on my shoulder.

"Friends?" he asked, looking hopefully at me.

"For sure," I answered, looking up and still seeing fireworks lighting up the skies. "Let's sit here and watch the fireworks for a while before they die down."

"Good idea," he replied, smiling. I pulled the throw I had lying on the chair and threw it over our legs to get comfortable.

We sat in comfortable silence for a while even after the fireworks ended. Twenty minutes may have passed, but we were too relaxed and comfortable to notice.

"Bella?" Edward said, breaking the silence.

"Mmm," I replied.

"Would you like to have a porch picnic with me tomorrow night? I was thinking of making my mom's famous chicken casserole after my shift is over."

I thought about it for a moment before smiling and replying.

"I'd love to."


	8. Promise of Things to Come

**Be forewarned, there is a barely described scene of rape in the flashback scene. I mention it just in case it offends you...skip over the italicized words at the beginning of this chapter if it does...**

_LONG A/N:  
__Alright, here's my explanation for being MIA for all these months...I was preparing for my wedding and moving into our first home together!! :) _

_We are almost all settled in, and I'm finally getting the hang of laundry and cooking (joy :-|), so the chapters should flow a LOT smoother than the last few months._

_I sincerely apologise for the delay between chapters, but anyone who's ever hosted a 325-guest wedding, and then packed and moved into their first home within the same week, then went on their honeymoon right after would tell you that it simply couldn't be helped... SORRY from the bottom of my heart, just the same!! Thank you for sticking with this story if you are reading this, and thanks to the many people who messaged me regarding my absence. As I told you, it truly warmed my heart knowing that there were people who missed my story and were worried about me!!_

_I hope this chapter was worth the wait. And if it isn't, well, I already have chapter 9 done and waiting to be beta'd..._

_Special thanks to Meghan, one of my bridesmaids and wonderful friend, for proofing this chapter at a moment's notice! You rock, hun!_

_**PS. I'm not Stephenie Meyer...otherwise I'd be making money off this story...**_

**_ PSS. Try to listen to the song I mentioned in the story...it's creepy!_**

**_On with it! ^_^_**

* * *

_I grew up with an appreciation for classical music. I didn't know the names of the composers, nor could I understand the intricacies of the compositions. But I loved the way the melodies blended together as they got quieter and louder at different intervals, causing my hearts rhythm to mimic the speed of the music. It was so emotionally uplifting whenever I heard classical music. _

_This affect continued even after James and I were married, but for a less innocent reason. _

_James hated silence. He constantly needed music playing or a television set on, or to be humming to himself. _

_It was no surprise, then, when James turned on music every single time we made love. He needed to hear something other than himself grunting or my moans to enjoy himself. I knew better than to ask him about it, of course. It was just another one of his many quirks. _

_ Before the abuse really began, it was beautiful that he wanted to add music to the experience. Once our evenings became less about love and more about control, it was downright terrifying to hear music playing in the house at all, let alone his favourite song while becoming aroused: _Rachmaninoff 's Prelude in C Minor.

****_I arrived home from an exhausting day seven months after we were married, and found that same haunting melody playing throughout the house through the house's intercom. _

_ I smiled and thought James was playing it to welcome me home and lull me to sleep. _

_ "James?" I called out, taking off my shoes and putting them away--a Canadian habit that I would never let go - because I loved walking around barefoot, anyway. I walked into the kitchen, checking the regular spot we usually put the mail to see if James had already picked it up for the day. He had, so I picked the various sized envelopes and rifled through them. _

_ I suddenly felt two strong arms wrapping around my waist, pulling me backward ever so slightly. Hot breath grazed my cheek. _

_"Marie," James' voice murmured dangerously, seductively. _

_"Hi, James," I replied quietly, enjoying the closeness. I put the mail down on the counter and put my hands over his on my waist._

_"How was your day?" he asked, though I had the feeling that I wasn't supposed to answer that at length. _

_"Tiring," I said with a sigh as one of his hands on my waist slid down and back up my side slowly. James placed a single kiss on my neck, sending shivers of delight down my spine. _

_"Did you enjoy your lunch?" he whispered into my ear even quieter than before. _

_ My eyes widened. _

_ That day, I had gone out for lunch with a male colleague, alone. The rest of our group of teachers had to stay in to mark assignments for their classes._

_ James moved his head and rested his chin on my left shoulder. _

_ "I went to surprise you for lunch, but I caught you talking and laughing with that man on your way to _his_ car," he began, his voice growing quieter and somehow more dangerous by the second. _

_ "James, Liam is one of the other fourth grade teachers," I explained, unable to hide the beginnings of terror in my voice as it cracked. "He's married and has a newborn son--"_

_ "Do you find him attractive?" James stopped me as he spun me around to face him, his hands still on my hips. _

_"No!" I said a little too forcefully, knowing full well where this conversation was headed._

_ The look on James' face was one of disbelief. _

_ "He's young, good-looking, athletic," he commented, almost to himself. He then returned his stare to me, his eyes almost black with anger._

_ "But you belong to me, and I will not stand you flirting like a whore," he spat, making me flinch._

_ Before I could even defend my honour, James' hand rose and struck my cheek. As I was not expecting such a reaction, I fell to the ground, clutching my cheek and sobbing quietly. _

_ He crouched down before me and grabbed my wrist, jerking me up to a sitting position. _

_ "Get up and come with me." _

_He pulled my wrist as I got up on shaky legs and followed him. _

_ He led us up to our bedroom. Once there, he made me stand before our bed. _

_ "Strip. Now," he growled. _

_ Humiliated, I complied with James' demand as quickly as possible to avoid further anger._

_ Naked, and with tears falling from my eyes, I stood before my husband as a child would as she waited to be scolded for wrong-doing. But I had done nothing wrong. _

_ "Turn around."_

_ As I did so, I felt his hand touch my back roughly and push me face first into the bed. His hand stayed there, keeping me down. _

_ I heard the zipper on his pants and the distinct sound of clothing falling to the floor._

_I felt another hand grip my sides and James' hot breath at my ear. _

_"Remember who you belong to, Marie." _

_James plunged into me from behind at that point, making me yelp in pain at the brutality and unexpectedness of the act. I was in no condition to have sex with him, but he continued anyway, pounding into me so hard and fast that I knew I would have a difficult time sitting for the following few days, and I would retain serious bruises on my hips from James' rough handling of my body. _

_The tears flowed, but I dared not sob aloud. The power it would have given James would only have destroyed my self-worth further. I bit my tongue while James continued ploughing into me. With every thrust, he grunted a profanity. I gripped the comforter with my fingers, bracing myself for each push against me. _

_Thankfully, James was spent less than ten minutes after he began burying himself in me. When he released, I said a silent prayer that the ordeal had lasted only as long as that, although I knew I'd never be able to be intimate with James in the same way again. He came inside me and then pulled out. I felt his hands leave my body and his footsteps sounded like they were walking in the direction of the ensuite bathroom. Moments afterward, I heard the sink running._

_I was still crying, but the tears were from shock more so than from the pain James had inflicted upon me. It took all of my strength to remove myself from my face first position on the bed and retrieve my clothing. With slow steps, I walked out of the bedroom and into the other upstairs bathroom, wanting to take a shower and compose myself before having to face James once again. _

_I felt the bruises forming on my hips and a painful one on my cheek from the slap in the kitchen. I touched my cheek and winced. _

_ The warm water that ran down my body soothed my jangled nerves for a short while before growing cold..._

*****

I woke up in a sweat the morning after I confessed to Edward the reason why I moved to Forks. It was as if my subconscious was reminding me that I shouldn't get comfortable, because James was still out there, and he would do absolutely horrible things if he ever found out that I was alive.

After a serious internal debate, one that lasted the rest of the morning, I finally came to the conclusion that there was nothing wrong with being attracted to Edward. Sure, I didn't know much about him, but what I did know made me feel as if I wanted to know the rest. He was practically a doctor, and ever since I had met Carlisle, I had a soft spot for doctors.

Besides, telling him that I had run from my husband was a relief for me. I was sure that he was thinking I was a crazy person with all of my irrational behaviour while I was around him. I had explained just enough about my past to placate him, at least for now. I had a feeling that if our friendship continued, I would find myself having--or wanting--to tell him a lot more about the situation I was in.

The week after the barbeque, I set to work to make my house my own; yet another step towards taking back my life, and making Forks my home. My first task was to put a fresh coat of paint throughout the house. There was some outdated floral wallpaper hanging in the living room, and the kitchen and main bathroom were in desperate need of some bright colour.

I drove to Main Street, past Alice's store, _Scraps_, and made a mental note to stop by on my way home from the hardware store. I hadn't spoken to Alice since I had met her, though I knew that, given the right set of circumstances, we would be great friends. Hopefully, she'd be in the store after my trip to buy paint and other supplies.

After I picked up rollers, tape, pans, and just the right shades of blue, yellow, and off-white, I parked the car in front of Scraps and went in, hoping to see Alice. Sure enough, she was there, cashing a customer out.

She smiled a cordial smile at her customer and handed her a plastic bag with her merchandise as I came in. After wishing her customer a good day, her gaze rose to meet mine and her smile intensified.

"Bella!" she said enthusiastically, although I was pretty sure that it was her normal demeanour. She nearly ran towards me, skipping. I was amazed that she had even remembered my name, considering that I hadn't been in her store since the day I put in the offer for my house.

"Hi, Alice," I said. "How are you? How's business?"

"I'm great. " She took a look around and sighed. I saw a glimmer of pride in her eyes as she looked around her store. "And business has picked up recently. Probably because of the summer. People need hobbies while they watch summer reruns on TV."

"Hey, you got me scrapbooking, didn't you?" I added with a giggle. She nodded and touched my arm.

"So what about you? How is everything with you?" Alice asked warmly.

"Good," I began, walking towards the counter with her at my side. "The day we met, I actually bought a house."

"Really? That's awesome!"

"Yeah, but it was a bit outdated, and I need to spruce it up a bit so I bought some paint today to do just that. What better time for some home improvements than during the summer?" Alice nodded.

"True."

At that moment, the chime on the door sounded, signalling another customer had entered the store. Alice greeted the couple that walked in and turned to me.

"Listen, why don't we get together for coffee some night? I just have this feeling that we should be friends," Alice suggested almost in a shy voice.

"Sure, that sounds good. Here," I pulled out my cell phone. "What's your number? I'll call you tomorrow so we can set something up."

Alice beamed and told me her number.

Since there were customers, I said my goodbye and promised to call her the following day to discuss our plans.

I travelled my short journey home and smiled, knowing that Alice wanted to be my friend just as much as I felt we should be friends.

I walked back to my car and locked the door. As I began driving down Main Street towards my house, I stopped at a stop sign and waited as a man crossed the street before me.

The man was tall, definitely taller than me, with sandy blonde hair, cut in almost the same manner that James wore his. Even his walk reminded me of James' walk.

I instantly felt sweat accumulating on my forehead. I was beginning to hyperventilate when the stranger glanced up at me.

Thankfully, it wasn't James.

Far from it.

This man appeared to be nearly twenty years older than James.

After the James look-alike crossed the street, I continued on my way, glancing in the rear-view mirror every few moments to see if I had been mistaken and if he was following me.

Each time I checked, James wasn't there.

The look-alike wasn't there.

I took a deep breath to calm myself, and began chanting, "James isn't here. You're free. James didn't find you. You're free."

By the time I returned to Cedar Glen Gate, it was around lunch time. Trying to forget the panic attack I nearly had at the sight of a man who reminded me of my husband, I dove into the work at hand, unloading the car of the supplies and changing into some painting clothes.

It took me nearly an hour to effectively remove all the wallpaper from the living room. I then taped off the baseboards and removed the outlet covers in the living room, the kitchen, and the bathroom.

By 4 o'clock, I had the bathroom partly painted. I was satisfied with my accomplishment, since I had never painted before in my life, except for when I was in high school. Choosing colours to paint a room and actually painting the room was something that I hadn't thought possible while I was with James. He was so wrapped up in the lifestyle that we were _going _to have that he had always hired interior decorators to come and style our home. Everything in our home felt sterile, boring, and nearly dead. It never possessed a feeling that a family lived there—only a well-to-do business man and his little, socialite wife.

The bathroom's bright blue paint made me happy in its symbolism. I was finally free. I was free to design my life; much like the bathroom I stood in admiring, without begging or pleading with James, or anyone else for that matter. I was free to do whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted. That included seeing Edward, meeting with Alice, and having company over whenever I felt like it.

I smiled just as there was a knock at the door. I ran my hand over my forehead to wipe any sweat that sat there, and walked down the steps to the front door.

I opened the door to reveal Edward in a red golf shirt and faded blue jeans. His hair was still a mess, but it was gorgeous in its chaos nonetheless.

"Hi," I breathed.

"Hi back. You painting?" he asked, looking me up and down with a smile dancing in his eyes. I must have looked a mess, and I instantly felt self-conscious. Dammit, my blush was back.

"Yeah, sorry, I probably look like crap."

"No way," he grinned. "Not a chance of that. Actually, now that I see you're painting, do you need some help? "

I shook my head. "That's alright. I'm nearly done the bathroom."

"Let me guess, you painted it blue, right?"

My eyebrows furrowed slightly, confusedly. "How did you know that?"

Edward reached out and touched my nose playfully. "It's written all over your face. Well, actually, just your nose!" he explained, laughing. I began furiously scrubbing my nose with my hand, trying to remove the offending paint from my nose quickly.

"Shit!" I cursed as I scrubbed. I felt my entire face turn a bright shade of red.

"It's adorable, Bella. Don't worry," he continued to laugh softly. "Besides, that'll come right off."

Embarrassed, I didn't know what more to say, so I kept my mouth shut, hoping he'd break the silence.

"Are you sure you don't need help?" he asked again, looking past me at the mess behind me. Judging by his face, he saw the mess and knew I could benefit from some help, and in all honesty, I would have loved the help, but I just couldn't let him in. I hadn't allowed him inside my house yet. Not that I didn't think he was trustworthy, I just didn't feel comfortable being absolutely 100% alone with him yet.

I shook my head again. "Thanks for the offer." I didn't add any sort of explanation to that. I could only assume that he read that in my tone, because he didn't ask again.

"Alright, well, how about a porch picnic tomorrow morning for breakfast? My shift doesn't begin until the evening, and I still haven't made you Mom's Nutella crepes."

My mouth reacted to that little suggestion quite favourably. "That sounds fantastic. How about 10am on my porch?"

"I'll be there or I'll be square," he deadpanned with a smirk.

"You sure better not be square!"

"I don't intend on being so," he teased. "Alright, I'll let you get back to beautifying your home. I'll see you tomorrow morning, then."

"Ok, see you then." I shut the door, and I couldn't help but watch Edward walking back to his house across the street through the window by the front door.

My God, but that man was perfect in every way.

I kept trying to remind myself that James had that effect on me, too, at the time, and that it had been dead wrong then. But Edward couldn't be like James. They were two entirely different creatures. James was a wife-beating, controlling monster, with hints to his true nature always just under the surface. Edward, on the other hand, had been nothing but nice to me, never pushing me, never stepping over our boundaries, if there were even boundaries set out for us. I felt a sort of peace when Edward was around. I was beginning to trust Edward more and more, and it was slowly beginning to feel right. I had never felt at ease with James, not even when we were first married. I always felt a need to impress him, to prove myself to him. I had a suspicion that it had something to do with our age differences and our professions. He was a lawyer for God's sake, and I was merely an elementary school teacher. Besides that, I wasn't even from a rich family—I was a humble Canadian girl who fell in love with a smart man, four years her elder, studying to be a lawyer.

Though Edward was nearly a full-fledged doctor, he and I felt like equals. He never put down my culture—If we Canadians consider Tim Horton's coffee and hockey our 'culture'—never made me feel as if my career choice was beneath his notice, and was interested in everything I had to say.

Definitely, Edward was gaining big in my books.

*****

The next morning, Edward came over and presented me with the best tasting crepes I'd ever devoured. All the while as I ate, I noticed that he barely took his eyes off of me. It was as if he were watching a mesmerizing event unfold before him. I didn't question him, mainly because I was afraid of the many reasons why he could have been staring at me. After breakfast, I thanked him immensely for the crepes and continued painting. He tried yet again to offer his assistance when his shift was over, but I declined again. I just couldn't do it. Not yet.

By the time I remembered to call Alice, I was so wrapped up in painting that I decided to ask her for a rain-cheque for our coffee date. I apologised, but she completely understood, saying that "once the creative juices are flowing, and you're in a groove, you'd be nutso to stop!" I could only assume that she translated the creativity it took to work on a scrapbook with the 'creativity' it took to paint a room. Either way, I knew what she meant.

She suggested that we reschedule after my painting and redecorating was done.

Without any help, it took me the next few days to complete the painting. Once the paint was completely dry, my living room was a rich shade of chocolate brown, my kitchen a healthy and bright yellow, and my bathroom a fun and exciting blue—one that I dubbed _Toronto Maple Leaf blue_. I rearranged some of the furniture in my living room and washed the slip covers I had purchased the month before. My home was finally starting to take shape.

*****

Over the next few weeks, Edward and I had lunch together on my porch if his shift allowed it. On the evenings where he had worked all day, I would make something for dinner and we would sit and chat until his weariness showed, then I would ship him off to his own house to rest.

Our conversations were light, never touching on my marriage, though I knew he was curious. Who wouldn't be? He never pried, which was a relief because I hadn't decided quite yet what I was going to tell him, had he asked.

Was I going to tell him that two strangers helped me move across the country, fake my death, and start a completely new life here? I hadn't even told him my real name yet. Should I even tell him something as small as that? Maybe revealing my real name was the only thing I _should _divulge to him, for safety's sake...

My secrets notwithstanding, our topics usually revolved around what to do for fun in Forks, and the daily news.

We briefly touched on politics, but because I had never been engaged in politics, either Canadian or American, and I limited my responses to his questions of political affiliation to, "Obama seems like a nice guy. We need someone like that in Canada, I think."

Edward's response would be to chuckle and smile, saying that he was never big into politics, though I'm sure he knew more than he let on, but didn't want to make me feel uncomfortable.

*****

One evening, the first weekend of August, I was sitting on my veranda by myself, with a cup of coffee, when my cell phone began to ring. I couldn't stop my smile from spreading from ear to ear when I saw the caller display.

"Hi, Esme!"

"Hi, dear! How is everything going? We haven't heard from you in a few weeks," Esme's maternal concern warmed my heart.

"I'm sorry, Esme. I've been meaning to call you and Carlisle, but I've been redecorating my house, and I've made a friend, and we've been having lunch and dinner together frequently..." I trailed off, realising I didn't really have a great excuse for not calling. "I'm so sorry," I concluded.

"Bella, there is no need to apologise. Besides, you don't need to check in. We're glad you're living your life, dear. I'm so glad you're settling in alright. I actually wanted to let you know that Carlisle and I were thinking of visiting you sometime in September. Do you have room in that wonderful house for two old people?" I giggled.

"I'd hardly consider you two 'old'!" I challenged. "And yes, of course! I have two extra bedrooms that are practically empty."

"Well, Carlisle thought that I should give you some heads up to prepare for us. I mean, we can always stay with--"

"No, Esme. I insist! But thank Carlisle for the forethought. I do need a few weeks to make sure the house is ready for you two."

I heard Esme giggle, even though she had clearly covered the receiver with her hand.

"Carlisle is always right," Esme sighed. I could hear the smile in it. "But never let him hear that."

I laughed as she continued.

"Once we have our tickets confirmed, we'll let you know."

"Perfect! Oh, I cannot wait to see you, Esme. I can't believe how much I've missed you," I said, feeling the familiar prickle of tears forming in my eyes at the thought.

"I absolutely know how you feel, Bella. But not to worry; we'll probably stay a few weeks, if that's alright with you, so you'll probably be sick of us by the time we leave!" she joked.

"No way," I said, shaking my head.

I heard Esme laughing sweetly on the other end of the phone.

"Ok, dear, well, it's getting late here. Three hours ahead and all. We'll be in touch once we confirm our flight."

"Alright, thanks for your call. We'll talk soon," I added before hanging up, still smiling from the wonderful surprise I received.

"Wow, look at that beautiful smile," a smooth voice called before me. "I didn't know you felt that way about me." I looked up and stared into the eyes of my beautiful dinner partner as he took the steps up the veranda two at a time.

"Sorry if I startled you," Edward apologised as he took a seat beside me, smiling brightly. I shook my head.

"You didn't, I just got some pleasant news and I was a bit distracted by it."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, an old friend is coming to visit. She doesn't know exactly when yet, but I haven't seen her since I moved to Forks."

Edward angled his body so that he was facing me and put a gentle hand on my shoulder.

"That's great to hear. Will I get to meet her?"

I nodded happily. "Of course. I'm sure you guys would get along just great. She's such a gentle person."

"I'm sure she is. You seem really excited that she's coming to visit," he commented. I noticed that his hand was still lingering on my shoulder, and he was slowly rubbing circles on the skin there. I didn't mind a bit.

"Oh, I am. I can't wait to show her my house. You know about all the work I've put in over the last few weeks."

He nodded, chuckling. "How can I forget how cute you looked with blue paint on your nose," he said, accentuating his point by touching his index finger to my nose.

Instead of feeling terror at his touch, I was starting to enjoy him finding opportunities to touch me. Strangely enough, it made me feel a sense of normalcy; like flirting or being friendly with Edward was something that came naturally. I could get used to this.

"Ha ha," I snickered playfully. "All the same, regardless of how ridiculous I looked while I renovated, it was worth it."

"You didn't look ridiculous. How could you?" All the playfulness left his voice as he gazed at me with a slight crooked grin.

I couldn't believe it; I blushed.

"Edward," I warned quietly. The abrupt change of topic and tone caught me off-guard.

"I'm sorry, but it's true. In the months that I've known you, I've never seen you look anything but beautiful." His thumb continued its exploration of my shoulder gently. Before I could rebuke his claim, he stood up, exhaled, and offered his hand to me.

"Anyway, the reason I came by was to ask you to come and have dinner with me at my house. I got a new recipe from my mom and I tried it out."

"Oh," I stumbled. "At your house," I stated, almost in the form of a question.

He nodded, with a hopeful smile on his inexplicably gorgeous face. His hand was still outstretched, waiting for me to take it. He wiggled his fingers at me playfully.

"Bella, my concoction is going to get cold. The table is already set. Please, Bella. Have dinner with me," he practically pleaded.

I looked down at his hand and then into his eyes. His smile was unbelievably soothing and reassuring. With it, he was telling me not only to have dinner with him, but to trust him, to believe him, to start to heal from everything I had been through.

I rose and placed my hand in his. "Ok."


	9. Dinner at Edward's

Thanks to all of you for your reviews! I was absolutely blown away by the response to the last chapter. It meant so much to read that so many of you awaited my return so impatiently (hehe)! I will reply to each and every one. That's a promise!!

Again, thanks to Meghan for beta'ing. Love you, fellow Miltonian ^_^

_(I have to mention that I pictured Edward's dog, Bolt, as a Husky. I realise some authors have given him a pet Husky as well, such as Tara Sue Me, whose stories I absolutely love. I am not trying to infringe on anyone's creative license. I just pictured him as a Husky, too. Please forgive me!)_

_**PS. I'm not Stephenie Meyer...otherwise I'd be making money off this story...**_

* * *

I couldn't believe how well-decorated Edward's home was. The walls were white, in stark contrast to the dark hardwood floors. The sofa set was a mix of dark wood and white leather. Intricate crown moulding graced every inch of the main floor rooms.

On the main floor, there were only framed decorative pictures that matched the decor on the walls. I had a feeling that Edward kept all his family photos upstairs, because he didn't seem like he'd be the type to live in a house devoid of links to his family.

The only proof that he had a pet laid in the kitchen, where Bolt, a pure bred Husky, had his plush-looking bed, water bowl, and food bowl placed beside the refrigerator.

To make sure that I was comfortable, Edward put Bolt outside in the backyard in preparation for my visit. I had yet to really meet this pet, and he knew that I had never been exactly at home with dogs around me. It was kind of him to do it because Bolt wasn't used to being outside for long stretches of time, unless he was going for a walk.

All in all, the main floor looked as if it were straight out of a home decor magazine cover.

I guess it suited him well, considering that he himself looked like he'd been plucked out of GQ magazine...

We took our respective seats in the kitchen, where the table was indeed set. We sat opposite one another, with nothing between us but the salt and pepper shakers and our meals.

I took a bite of this new recipe and was floored by the explosion of flavour. It was exceptional, yet again.

"Mmm," I began, swallowing. "This is incredible. Remind me to grab your mother the next time she visits and steal all of her recipes!"

Edward wiped his mouth with his napkin and grinned.

"Actually, you might get the chance soon. I got an email from her the other day that she and my dad are planning to drop in for a visit in a few weeks."

"That's great!"

"Yeah, I'm excited. I don't know exactly when they're coming, but I'll let you know when they arrive. I'd love for her to meet you." He looked a bit bashful at these words. If I wasn't mistaken, I saw a hint of a blush rising in his cheeks.

"Actually," he continued, clearing his throat slightly. "I've been wanting to tell my mother all about you. I mean, what little about you that I know, that is, but I've been unable to articulate how I feel about you to her."

"Oh," I mumbled, unsure of how to reply.

"I'm sorry, Bella. I don't want to make you feel uncomfortable, but I also want to be honest with you. It's a difficult predicament." He smiled at me, putting his fork down and wiping his mouth again with his napkin. He seemed to be debating something.

Decided, he continued.

"I like you, Bella." His voice was suddenly no louder than a soft whisper. "A lot."

He looked deeply into my eyes at that moment, and I knew he was being genuine and as non-threatening as possible. "You're scared, I get that," he continued. "But I really want to help you."

I lost my voice. Unable to ask him how he intended on helping me, I stared dumbly at him, hoping for him to continue.

Edward rose from his seat in front of me and pulled out the chair directly beside me. As he sat down, I noticed he had a serious expression on his face.

"I still remember how shaken up my mother was, even seven years after her ordeal. It takes time to get over something that hurtful, that devastating. I know it does," he confessed, leaning a bit closer to me. "But she had my dad to help her get through it. I can't pretend to know exactly what to do to help you, but I'd like to be there for you in any way that you'll let me."

He leaned ever closer to me and placed his hand upon mine. Finally, the words came to me after processing all that Edward had said. In a nutshell, he had confessed to me that he had feelings for me and wanted to be in my life.

"You're my friend," I stated slowly. Edward nodded and I felt the pad of his thumb rubbing circles on the back of my hand.

"Yes, but I'd like to be more. When you're ready, of course."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. In all honesty, I had the feeling that Edward was attracted to me. Why, I couldn't fathom. But he was. I hadn't understood just how attracted he was to me until that very moment.

"I..."

"Do you have any feelings for me at all, Bella?" he asked, leaning in ever closer to me, his thumb still rubbing my hand.

I couldn't lie. Something deep inside me prevented me from doing so.

I did the only thing I could do without revealing too much emotion; I nodded slowly.

The smile on his face brightened the entire kitchen. Hope radiated from his expressive eyes.

"That's something," he stated with a happy sigh. He let out a breath and leaned in as close as he could to me without our foreheads touching.

"Do you think that we could try to make this—whatever _this _is—work?"

I gaped, but only because my mind was screaming to me that I just might be ready to be more to him. I inhaled deeply and let it out.

"Bella, you are funny, incredibly smart, and the most beautiful woman I have ever seen in my life," he confessed unabashedly.

I shook my head gently in protest of all the compliments he'd just sent my way. I hadn't received a slew of compliments since before James and I married, so it was hard to believe that it was all the truth.

"It's true. Bella, please believe me." He smiled, that crooked smile that somehow made me forget that I was no longer the person I was a year ago, that helped me see a future I thought was impossible. That smile held love, or at least the beginnings of it.

"I want to. I mean, I...I have lived in fear since I left him. Sometimes, I'm so scared when I'm alone in my house. I see things that remind me of him...When I'm with you, I feel safe. I just don't know if it's a good idea to feel safe with you, or with any other man for that matter."

"I can't tell you how you should feel. Only that you should start to trust again, and the first person you need to start trusting is yourself." The circles he was still forming with his thumb on the back of my hand grew gentler, if that was even possible. Edward released my hand at that moment and cupped my cheek.

"What does your heart tell you?"

If I was being honest with myself, my heart was telling me to allow this incredibly beautiful man into my life to help me heal. My heart told me that he was the one man who could see past the paranoia, the fear, the anxiety, and just let me be myself. James had done a number on my self-esteem and trust, and Edward could be that one person to help heal those two very important aspects of myself.

"It tells me that you want to help me."

He nodded, a small smile on his face. "I do, Bella."

"It also tells me that you _can_ help me."

He chuckled lightly. "I want to _try_," he replied, his fingers just ghosting across my cheek in the most sacred way, as if his fingers were pilgrims worshipping my cheek.

That cheek had been bruised and slapped too many times to count by one man, and was being worshipped and caressed by another.

That thought stirred up emotions I tried not to think of while in Edward's presence, but I couldn't control them; I felt tears building up in my eyes.

"Bella, what's wrong?" he asked, panic rising in his voice as he noticed my eyes moist with unshed tears. "I don't want to push you."

I shook my head adamently. "That's not it," I said, my voice becoming raspy with emotion. "You are too good to be true," I stated as calmly as possible.

Edward smiled sadly. "I am real. But we don't have to rush into anything."

His intense gaze into my eyes was enough to stop the tears from threatening to flow. He seemed to be willing me to stop crying and believe his words. _Take_ _a_ _chance_, _Bella_, they seemed to say. _Please_, _take a chance_.

I nodded excruciatingly slowly as my mind became made up.

The smile that appeared on his face lit up the entire kitchen once again.

I suddenly had the urge to press my lips to his, almost in celebration of his conquest over my fear. I leaned into his hand, still cupping my face, infinitesimally. This was the nudge that Edward needed to lean in and kiss me just once, chastely, sweetly, on the lips. As our lips parted, I sighed, eliciting a chuckle from Edward.

"Bella," he whispered. "Promise me that you'll tell me when you're feeling uncomfortable, nervous, paranoid, anything. I don't want to inadvertently hurt you."

"Ok," was my dumb response to Edward's plea. I smiled at him, letting him know that this--us trying to work our way into a relationship--was what I wanted. Somehow, his eyes communicated to me that he understood my gesture.

Edward took a look at the kitchen table and realized that our meal hadn't been finished before we began the conversation about our feelings. He chuckled softly and tilted his head towards the table before us.

"We should really finish our meal before it gets even colder," he laughed. I nodded with a smile and turned back towards my plate as Edward released my cheek and returned to his seat. I instantly felt the loss of his presence beside me. He took his seat and resumed eating, only the serene smile on his face was hard to miss. It was proud, as if he had triumphed over some great adversity. I had to admit that I was pretty proud of myself, too. I hadn't run away in fear. Even though I had heavily debated the idea of being romantically involved with Edward ad nauseum, I had finally faced my growing feelings for Edward and let him in.

After we washed and put away the dishes, Edward took my hand and guided me to the spacious living room, where a shiny black baby grand piano sat. He motioned for me to sit beside him as he took a seat on the bench. Silently, he lifted the cover that protected the keys, and his fingers were suddenly dancing over them, creating the sweetest of melodies. In our various conversations, he had briefly mentioned that he played the piano, but the depth of his talent astounded me as he began to play. I watched his face intently, noticing that he looked relaxed and calm. The melody changed at that moment and so, too, did his expression. A jumble of emotions graced his features. I recognized the song he was now playing, Furelise. The melody changed again, and as the notes attacked my senses, my breathing became erratic.

He was playing Rachmaninoff 's Prelude in C Minor.

I nearly had a full-blown panic attack, until the noise of the song stopped entirely and I felt two strong arms gripping the tops of my shoulders gently but firmly.

"Bella?" Edward asked intensely. "What's wrong?"

I felt those damned tears falling down my cheeks again. I squeezed my eyes shut tightly, trying to rid my mind's eye of the images that song evoked for me.

James hitting me repeatedly, the nauseating scent of his skin, the pain as he would force himself on me and into me in time with the music, the way my sobs reverberated off the walls of our large house, the look in his eye has he told me that I was his forever.

Everything surfaced again, and the words escaped me. I sat there, beside this wonderful man, and all I could think of was how much pain James inflicted on me while this song played.

My entire body shook with the memories of a life I left behind--which was really no life at all--a life's worth of memories of which I wanted to rid myself, as they flooded my senses. The tears fell incessantly. I hiccupped a few times on my sobs.

"Tell me what's wrong," Edward begged, letting go of my shoulder and taking my hands in his.

"The song," was all I could manage to say.

I peered up at Edward's face and saw remorse on it.

"I...I didn't mean to...you..." he stumbled. At that moment, I snapped out of my trance and shook my head.

I took a deep breath.

"James...he would play that...when...when..." I faltered, and the tears continued to flow then. Edward instantly wrapped his arms around me. It was such a relief to be enveloped in his arms that my tears slowed and my shaking stopped.

Edward must have felt this change in me, too, because he leaned back from the hug and stared into my eyes, no doubt searching for some sign that I was alright. His smooth hands cupped my cheeks as he searched.

"My God, what did he do to you?" he muttered sadly, placing a kiss upon my forehead and wrapping his arms around me once more. The comfort I found in his arms was astounding. I felt like everything in the world was as it should be at that very moment, though I was struggling to regain my composure. I was where I belonged. His touch was helping to calm my jangled nerves and soothe my broken heart.

"A lot," I whispered as I tucked my head under his chin. It wasn't an understatement. A lot _had_ been done to me.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Edward asked quietly.

I thought about it for a few moments before taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly.

"Maybe another time," I said quietly, taking another deep breath and releasing it. I glanced over at Edward's watch. It was well over 10 o'clock.

"I should get going," I started to say, but was interuppted by Edward's hand on my shoulder, preventing me from getting up from the piano bench.

"I'm sorry for playing that song," he said. "I...never would have played for you if..."

"I know. Please don't apologise for something you had no idea about," I replied with a sad smile, trying to show him that I was alright. "I'm just emotionally drained from the memories of him, of all that he did while that song played."

Edward shook his head and released my shoulder gently. The look of remourse was back.

"Hey," I said, rising from the bench. "I'm sorry I freaked out." He looked up at me and rose to meet my eyes.

"Bella--" I put my hand up to his mouth to stop him before he could apologise yet again, but he caught my hand in mid-air and kissed the back of it sweetly.

"Would you like to walk me home?"

He smiled, the hope returned to his eyes in the form of a twinkle. He nodded.

We walked hand in hand back across the street to my house. I took the key out of my pocket and unlocked the door before turning back to face Edward.

To his credit, he wasn't waiting expectantly for anything from me. Actually, he looked as if he were ready to walk back home at any second. I wanted to ease his tension. From the moment he stopped playing that goddamned song, he had never fully returned to his former relaxed state. I needed to reassure him that my apprehension wasn't his fault; it was James'.

"Edward," I began, taking a hold of his hand. "Thank you for dinner. It was really wonderful."

"It was my pleasure." He smiled, but I wasn't fully convinced that he had forgiven himself for playing the song. It was irrational of him, but I needed to reassure him nonetheless.

I hesitated, debating between whether or not it was a good idea to talk a bit more candidly with him about my past.

I sighed and smiled again, rubbing the back of his hand with my thumb. I motioned to the two-seater on the porch.

Once we were both seated, I turned towards Edward and took a deep breath, preparing myself to tell him what he needed to know about me...


	10. Talking About the Past

Thanks to all of you for your reviews! It's fantastic knowing that so many of you are still reading this humble story!

Again, thanks to Meghan for beta'ing, and for helping me set up our first Christmas tree as a married couple !(haha...it was my husband's job, but Meghan took over instead...it looks great!!)

_**PS. I'm not Stephenie Meyer...otherwise I'd be making money off this story...**_

* * *

"James - that's his name - he was very controlling," I started. I could see Edward opening his mouth, trying to stop me. "It's fine. I want to tell you." He grimaced and nodded sombrely.

"It's now that I realise that he showed blatant signs of OCD from the start, but at the time, I thought he was just a perfectionist. He had to have everything exactly the way he wanted, whether it was bed sheets, or towels lined up in a certain way, or my car parked in a specific way in the driveway. He didn't allow me to have male friends since he was incredibly jealous. The possessiveness wasn't nearly as pronounced while we dated." I paused, allowing him time to process my words.

"How old were you when you were married?" he asked. His fingers became intertwined with mine at that moment, which felt really nice.

"Almost 24. I was practically a kid jumping headlong into marriage. What a mistake. I was such an idealistic girl. So naive," I lamented, shaking my head sadly. Edward lifted my chin with his finger so that he could gaze into my eyes. That look gave me goose bumps.

"No one knows what the future holds until it presents itself to us. You can't blame yourself for his actions."

"I should have left immediately the first time he..." I couldn't even bring myself to say it. I swallowed thickly, shutting my eyes.

"The first time he hit you?"

"Well, yes, that and other things..." I trailed off, hoping he'd get the idea without actually having to hear the words. The last thing I wanted was Edward to feel sorry for me, and somehow saying that James had raped me numerous times made me think that he would start pitying me.

Realisation set in and Edward's eyes widened.

"Oh God," he mumbled, looking down at our hands. He rubbed my hand with his, an action I suspected was to comfort him as much as it was to comfort me.

"Yeah. I should have left the day after. But I couldn't. I was a coward."

"If you don't mind me asking, what stopped you from leaving?"

"I don't mind." I took a deep breath and recounted the story...

_  
"Marie," a cold voice said behind me as I stared out the window, arms folded before me, trying to calm myself for what was to come. James had seen me going to lunch with a colleague from the school at which I taught and forced himself on me in our bedroom the evening prior. I had called in sick at work, but left the house soon after James left for work to seek legal advice. _

_I turned and faced him, having somehow built up my courage and prepared myself to confront him and demand a divorce. _

_"I want a divorce, James," I said, glaring at him as best I could. Considering how I felt, the words probably came out as a desperate plea rather than a strong-willed demand. _

_"You what?" he questioned almost incredulously. _

_"You heard me, James. I know my rights, and I can't do this anymore. I can't be your punching bag or your glory hole whenever you feel like it."_

_James took a slow, menacing step towards me with the hopes of intimidating me. I stood my ground externally, while internally, I was screaming in fear. _

_"You wouldn't dare leave me, Marie," he stated calmly, his voice growing quieter with the rage that was surely mounting._

_"I would, and I am."_

_He took another step towards me. This time, I took a corresponding step backward and my back hit the wall. James took a final step to close the gap between us and put his hands on either side of my body, boxing me in between him and the wall. I had nowhere to go. Immediately, I began mentally kicking myself for confronting him. I should have simply left, packed a bag and disappeared. He wouldn't have even known that I was gone until he arrived home from work two minutes after he stepped into the house. Instead, I set myself up for the biggest beating at his hands imaginable, judging by the anger seeping from his expression. _

_James' nostrils flared ever so slightly, as they always did when he was furious. His eyes raked over my form possessively. _

_He took a deep breath and sighed. A different look appeared on his face. _

_Resignation? _

_He looked down at me, and then closed his eyes._

_"Marie, if you want to leave me, I can't make you stay."_

_I was stunned by his words. So stunned, in fact, that words would not come to me to retort. _

_"You should go back to Toronto and stay at your parents' place," he continued. "You know, while we sort this whole thing out." His eyes were still closed, as if he was planning things out in his head. I didn't like that. I felt a tiny bead of sweat forming over my brow. This was bad. _

_"That's a good idea - " I said hopefully before being cut off by James' dangerously calm voice. _

_"But, I have a terrible feeling that they may not be around when you get there."_

_"What?"_

_"That SUV they drive isn't very safe, you know. They tip quite easily, I've been told. And who knows what sorts of patches of ice they encounter on their daily travels in and out of the city. After all, accidents happen every single day in Toronto. Your parents aren't any different."_

_There was a tone of sarcasm, of mock care, of disturbing calm. The bead of sweat that formed above my brow dropped ever so slightly, confirming my own feeling of terror, despite his words._

_"What are you saying, James?" I begged quietly, the tears now threatening to spill over. His eyes opened instantly and stared into mine, startling me, briefly blinking once before continuing his thought. _

_"I'm saying, Marie, that it is in your parents' best interest for you to forget all about this divorce nonsense. Their health is at stake," he stated, pausing and leaning in closer. In any other context, this action would have been construed as one of seduction, but at that moment, the terror associated with his proximity was palpable. His breath felt as hot as the fires of hell against my cheek. _

_"I'm sure that you don't want their deaths on your conscience. Am I right?" _

_I turned away from him and shut my eyes tightly, wrapping my head around the idea that James had just threatened to have my parents killed, to cause them to have an 'accident', unless I agreed to stay with him. I felt those hot tears well up in my eyes and fall down my face. _

_James slammed his open hand against the wall, making me jump again in fear. _

_"Am I right?!" he demanded again, only this time his voice was full of rage, and almost deafening._

_"Yes," I replied quietly, unable to meet his eyes._

_"So we have an understanding, Marie," he said, his voice returning to his normal calm and eerily quiet tone. "You're unhappy in this marriage. I understand that all too well. But you will NOT leave me. We are too perfect for one another. You just need to see that clearly. In time, you will. I have total confidence in that." He reached over and tucked a stray hair behind my ear, smiling what appeared to be a genuine smile. I knew better, though. That outburst hadn't come and gone unforgotten. Beneath the surface, I knew that if I said anything at that moment, this mild performance would melt away and he'd strike me harder than I had ever felt before._

_Thankfully, he walked away moments after. I did the only thing I could do at that moment; I sobbed because of my inability to escape him and my cowardice. _

By the time I finished telling the story, I had tears in my eyes that nearly mimicked my story, and Edward's arm was around me, rubbing my shoulder soothingly.

"I was such a coward," I repeated, sobbing quietly.

"No, Bella, you weren't. You did what anyone in the same position would have done. You protected your family. Besides, how sure were you that he'd follow through on his threat?"

"One hundred percent," I sighed. "James always made good on his threats. The instant he found out that I ran off, he'd make a call and my parents would be as good as dead the next day. He had friends in low places in Canada and the States who'd do any job he'd require for the right price."

Edward's grip on my shoulder tightened gently. "Unbelievable," he stated quietly. "You had no other choice then, Bella. You have to know that."

"I know, but I should have done something."

"He sounds like a loose cannon," Edward said quietly, shaking his head.

"He is. I did everything to make him happy with me. On the days that I did nothing to piss him off, he ignored me, which was the best thing I could hope for. On those days that he was mad at me, I would have to wear long sleeved shirts or tons of makeup to school the next day. I got pretty good with cover-up after a few months." I laughed humourlessly.

"Didn't anyone suspect anything? What about your colleagues at the school?" Edward asked, still rubbing my shoulder gently.

"I hadn't really made many friends at the school before the abuse began, so my demeanour didn't seem to change afterward. I guess they just thought I was normally an introverted and private sort of person."

"What about the physical abuse? Surely they saw something that would cause them to suspect--"

"He made sure to keep the proof of his abuse to the parts that were normally covered by clothing," I conveyed sadly, sighing. "I should have stood up to him. I should have hurt him back. I took everything he did to me. Everything, and never really stood up to him again after that," I said, defeated, leaning my head on Edward's shoulder, my tears dripping onto his shirt.

"Bella," Edward said at length. "If you are trying to imply that you are weak, you're sadly mistaken." He turned his body to face me. His hands gripped my shoulders firmly. "You travelled across the country and started your life over again in a strange place all by yourself. I'd say that's pretty courageous," he said confidently.

I began to shake my head when Edward continued.

"And you aren't alone, at least not anymore. I meant what I said before about wanting to help you through this. I'd like to think that I had a good role model on the subject," he added, smiling lightly.

I sighed. "If you don't mind me asking, how long was your mother with...you know...with _him_?" I asked, effectively shifting the conversation from me to his mother.

"I'm not really sure. She obviously doesn't talk about her time with him, but from what I gather, once she met my dad, he helped her gain the courage to leave him and his abuse behind her. It wasn't long after that that I was born."

"Were they--"

"Not at first. She just needed a friend, and my dad has a great ear. They were classmates in college, and he saw her crying one day after class and asked her about it. Things progressed from there rather quickly, or so my dad says.

"They were married when I was about six months old."

He was six months old when his parents were married. If I did the calculations right, that meant that Edward was a product of his mother's abusive relationship. My eyes widened slightly as I calculated the rough timeline he provided me. He must have read my face, because he nodded.

"I suspect that my dad isn't really my dad, but I wouldn't dare ask Mom about it. It would probably bring up terrible memories for her, and I just don't want to know that badly."

"You don't?"

He smiled softly, and was about to answer when I interupted him instantly. I felt embarrassed about Edward having to justify his relationship with his father to me, a near stranger.

"I'm sorry about bringing it up. Really, it's none of my business," I backpeddled a bit, feeling embarrassed that I had practically grilled him about such a personal issue. I could hear him chuckle lightly.

"Bella, don't be. If I didn't feel comfortable telling you, I wouldn't have answered. But actually, I was going to. Please don't apologize. Besides, it feels great talking about this with someone who can relate in a way."

I could feel my cheeks growing warm.

"Like I was saying before I was so rudely interuppted," he teased, poking my shoulder gently. "The man my mother married is my father, regardless of DNA. He taught me everything I needed to know about being a man. I owe him a new debt of gratitude, though." I looked at him, confused.

He smiled once again and hugged my shoulder. "Hopefully, with all my experience watching him console my mother, I will be able to help you, even just a little."

At that moment, a feeling of sheer admiration for the man sitting beside me washed over me. Not only was he a talented, smart, and an incredibly handsome soon-to-be doctor, but his heart was made of pure gold. Some people would be so strung up on knowing who fathered them that they would go to great lengths to find out, no matter who they had to hurt to find out. Their unknown parentage brought them a sense of entitlement.

Here Edward was, only caring that he was loved and had a great role model. It spoke volumes not only about Edward, but of his father. I knew at that moment that I couldn't wait to meet the man who helped shape Edward into the man he was today.

I leaned my head on Edward's shoulder and sighed as he continued to rub my shoulder.

"I hate to change the subject yet again, but something is troubling me," Edward said a moment later, his voice showing confusion. "How did you leave James, then? Isn't your family still in danger if he knows you left him?"

I breathed in and let it out. I knew that I would have to answer that question sooner or later.

"He thinks I'm dead," I stated simply, wanting to spare him all the gory details. I was sure that I'd recount those details sooner or later anyway, but after everything that had happened that night, I was too tired to tell him yet another story about my messed up life.

"Oh, my God," he said quietly. I could feel his hold on my shoulder tighten slightly, as if he was making sure that I was still with him.

"Yeah. I'll tell you about it sometime...just not tonight."

Edward released my shoulder, faced me, and nodded. The back of his hand grazed my cheek and then cupped it almost adoringly. I could have been wrong, but in his eyes I saw the same sort of admiration that I had felt for him a moment earlier.

"You have to be the strongest woman I have ever met, apart from my mother."

I shook my head adamantly, disagreeing. How could he put me in the same courageous category as his beloved mother?

"It was a cowardly thing to do. I couldn't even face him. I pray every day that he doesn't clue in and track me down. God help me and my parents if he does..." I trailed off, feeling tears prickling my eyes yet again.

"Bella, stop it," he said suddenly, sounding a bit irritated. "You are not to blame for any of this. It wasn't cowardly to run, it wasn't cowardly to stay." He shut his eyes briefly before watching me with fierce determination. He continued, stroking my cheek with the pad of his thumb.

"My mother went through the same sort of self-deprecating phase. When I was little, I had no idea why she'd constantly put herself down or why she'd never stand up for herself. Dad constantly encouraged her to be her own woman, to take charge, and to appreciate her own strength. He still does.

"I realize that your situation and hers are different, but the basic idea remains the same; you did what you had to do to survive. And because of your actions, you're here, safe with me, and he will never find you."

He took a deep breath then. "I will help keep you safe. I promise."

Again, I shook my head. Edward stopped me, taking my face in both his hands now.

"Listen to me," he said, pronouncing every word distinctly. "I care for you--probably too much--and I will not let anything or anyone hurt you."

"I can't let you make that promise--" I began.

"You can, and you will," he cut in with an air of finality. Still holding my face in his hands, he leaned in and kissed my forehead sweetly. He then wrapped his arms around me for a hug I didn't know that I desperately needed at that moment.

I suddenly felt a shiver crawl up and down my back, despite his arms encircling me at the moment. It was way past 11 o'clock at this point, and the warm summer night had turned into what felt like an early autumn night.

Edward noticed the shiver and rubbed the tops of my arms.

"You're getting a bit chilly. You should go inside. We can talk tomorrow if you feel up to it," Edward commented. I appreciated his suggestion that I go inside by myself. He could have easily suggested that we _both_ go inside, but knew that I just wasn't ready for that yet. I smiled gratefully at him. He looked down at his watch then, groaned, and released me from his gentle grasp.

"Plus, I have an early shift tomorrow. I'd better go, anyway." He stopped, tilting his head slightly at me and taking my hand in his.

"Will I see you tomorrow?"

I had to pause and think about that, but not for long.

"Of course," I said, rising from my seat and stretching slightly on the way up. "Thank you for listening."

He smiled genuinely. "I'm here for you whenever you feel like you need to talk."

I had an overwhelming need to hug him again at that moment, so that's what I did, without reservation, without hesitation. I hugged him tightly, trying to show him how grateful I was for his friendship. I felt him return the hug just as tightly, and his hand stroking my back affectionately.

"Thank you again," I murmured, still encased in this amazing hug.

"You're more than welcome," he replied quietly. He stepped back from the hug and leaned in to kiss me once, chastely on the lips.

"Good night, Bella." Edward took one more step backwards, waved, and left towards his house with his hands in his pockets. I stood on my veranda, watching him make his way back home, silently thanking God for Esme and Carlisle's assistance for the millionth time since escaping James.


	11. Birthday Surprises

Wow, I continue to get so many people putting my humble story on their favourite stories lists, and me on their favourite author's lists everyday! Thank you, from the bottom of my heart!! It is an awesome feeling!

Again, thanks to Meghan for beta'ing!

_**PS. I'm not Stephenie Meyer...otherwise wouldn't be writing for fanfiction sites (^_^)...**_

* * *

August came to an end too quickly, it seemed. I felt as if I were just beginning to enjoy my summer because of Edward's presence in my life. Sure, we were friendly before, but once he had admitted his feelings for me, and I had agreed to let him into my world, our relationship seemed to progress slowly but steadily. We saw each other almost every day, depending upon his work schedule. I never invited him into my home, but I began feeling entirely more comfortable in his. He cooked dinner for me a few more times, and our evenings even ended with us curled upon his leather sofa, watching a DVD. In actuality, watching movies together quickly became our favourite thing to do. We hadn't yet ventured out beyond dinner and a movie at his house, though I was starting to think that just maybe, I'd survive his presence in my house.

Before I knew it, the beginning of the school year was suddenly upon us. I had to admit that starting off with a brand new class in September was a much easier transistion than my abrupt start in the middle of the school year when I arrived in Forks.

I was still finding it difficult to have the students call me Ms. Swan. I had begun my teaching career back in Boston under the name of Mrs. Huntington, so it was a weird feeling to have the kids call me by anything else. It worked, however. I responded to it, and actually liked the sound of it, in much the same way I had when Carlisle and Esme had first called me _Bella_.

By the end of the first week of school, I was tired but happy and proud of myself. As with most kids, my students seemed to have forgotten a lot over the summer. I was happy to remind them about everything. This was the part of my job that I enjoyed the most. While the transition between summer and the fall always came with a small bit of resentment, most of my students were genuinely excited about learning new things and seeing each other once again. Plus, the glimmer of knowledge in a student's eye when they finally understood something or something finally made sense to them was such a high for me that most of the time, it didn't feel like work at all.

The only frustrating thing about September was that my birthday was coming up. Though I didn't want to draw attention to it, it still seemed to nag at the back of my mind. It wasn't that I detested September 13 because I was getting older, like other women my age did. Growing up, I had actually enjoyed celebrating my birthday with close friends and family. But it no longer stood for getting together with my nearest and dearest; it now reminded me that I had once been under the power of someone more sinister than I had ever dreamed. It reminded me of the day James hit me for the first time...

_"Your dad and I wanted to wish you a happy birthday, baby. How was your day?" Mom asked over the phone._

_"It was good, thanks. The kids sang to me at school. It had to be the cutest thing I've ever heard in a classroom." I smiled at the memory._

_"Yet," Renee added. "Remember, this is only your first year of teaching."_

_"I know," I replied, unable to prevent the smile from widening across my face. _

_"I'm starting off well enough, then, huh?" _

_"Hmm," Renee replied, suddenly sounding distant. _

_"What, Mom?" _

_"Nothing, honey," she said, pausing. "Just thinking about how you're starting..." she trailed off. _

_"Mom," I began in an accusing tone. I knew that she was thinking about something that had completely no relevance to teaching. Something had made her train of thought veer off into another direction. She did that from time to time, so I was used to it. "What does that mean?" _

_"Well, your dad and I were talking about you and James--"_

_"Mom, I don't want to hear what Dad thinks about James. I've heard it already," I fumed, becoming irritated that she had to bring up Charlie's disapproval of James on my birthday. _

_"It's not just your dad, hon. I agree with him. We're worried about you."_

_"Why?!" I burst._

_"He's isolated you from your family, sweetie," she reasoned, making me furious. _

_"I was already isolated, Mom. I moved to Boston four years ago, and only came back on holidays and during the summers. James didn't do that."_

_"Honey," Renee said quietly, trying to calm me down, "We miss you, that's all. We were expecting you to move back to Toronto when your degree was done, and now you're stuck over there."_

_"I'm not stuck, Mom," I sighed, returning my voice down to normal levels. It was the same conversation over and over since I told her we were engaged. "I can come for a visit whenever I want. The only problem now is that the school year just started. We'd have to wait until Christmas break to take the trip."_

_"What about if we visit you?" Renee asked. I could hear the suspicion lacing her tone, as if she was expecting me to dispute her request. _

_"__That would be great, Mom," I replied, genuinely happy at the potential of seeing my parents again after only two months. "You can have one of the __three extra bedrooms while you're here." _

_Just then, I heard the front door open and close, signalling that James was home. _

_"Marie?" James called out._

_I covered the receiver and said, "In the living room, babe," to him. _

_"Mom," I said, getting up from the sofa where I was sitting. "James is home, so we'll talk about this later. Thanks for calling. Bye," I said, hanging up the phone. _

_James stepped into the room at that moment, smiling at me tiredly. It looked like he had had a stressful day._

_"Who was that?" he asked before placing a kiss upon my cheek. "And what are you going to talk about later?" _

_"Oh, my mom. She's thinking of visiting some time soon."_

_James froze. "Why?"_

_My eyebrows scrunched together. "What do you mean, why? She's my mom, and she misses me. She doesn't need a better reason than that, does she?" I asked, confused by the question. I shouldn't have to explain why my parents want to visit us._

_"When she and your father outwardly show their dislike towards me, yes, she _does. _We just saw them for the wedding." _

_I became slightly indignified by his reasoning. "And? What's your point? I don't see a problem with them staying with us while they visit. We have the room."_

_"Who said anything about letting your parents to stay with us, if I allow them to visit?!" his voice suddenly rose with annoyance. _

_"'IF' you allowed them? You wouldn't have to allow them to do anything because this is as much my house as it is yours," I paused as I watched James' features contort into fury in a matter of seconds. I had never seen this sort of anger from him. His nostrils flared almost unnoticeably, he appeared slightly flushed, and I could see his fists balled up at his sides. _

_I was terrified instantly at the sight. _

_But I couldn't stop the following words from leaving my mouth:_  
_  
"If your parents were still alive, I wouldn't have a problem with them staying with us."_

_I knew his parents were a touchy subject with him. He told me once that they had been killed when he was a teenager during a home invasion. He was the only witness to their brutal slayings because he hid in the closet before the break-in. Their deaths were the main reason why he had originally wanted to study law._  
_I had known better than to even bring them up. He warned me early in our relationship never to talk about them because their deaths brought up horrible memories for him. I had willingly obliged--until now._

_"Don't you talk about my parents!" James snapped back. At that moment, I saw his hand rise and turn, but I didn't flinch. I had never had a reason to be physically scared of him. Until now._

_The back of his hand landed quickly upon my right cheek, turning my head slightly with the force of the slap. When I registered that I had been hit, which was almost instantly, I gasped and my hands flew to my face. _

_The pain was immediate. I then understood that line from Pretty Woman where Julia Roberts likened being slapped to the feeling of her eye exploding. It was a pretty accurate description, except it stung worse because James had inflicted that pain upon me, not some old horny guy trying to mark his territory with his client, like in the movie. The man I had pledged to love forever had hit me, and that hurt more than any physical pain I had ever endured._

_Within a few moments, tears were falling from my eyes due to equal amounts of shock and pain. _

_I hadn't even looked at James since he delivered the blow. When I did look at him, I saw that his body was hunched over ever so slightly in what I read was shame, __with his eyes firmly shut. His face was covered with remourse. _

_He finally opened his eyes before he spoke next. _

_"Marie," he choked out. "I'm so sorry. I...I can't believe I just did that." His voice sounded tortured, as if he were going to cry at any minute. He never did. That look remained on his face, though--shameful, guilt-ridden, scared. _

_"I..." he stuttered. "I'm such an asshole. Oh my God," he continued with awe in his voice, like he had witnessed someone else slapping his wife and couldn't prevent it. "Marie, I don't know what came over me. I can't believe I just did that," he repeated with no emotion in his voice, taking a step towards me. Still in shock, I allowed him to step closer to me. He reached out and stroked the side of my face that he hit. _

_He took my hand in his at that moment and led me to the kitchen. Once there, he opened the freezer and took out a bag of frozen carrots. He raised them and placed them slowly upon my cheek, causing me to flinch at the sudden cold against my skin. _

_"Baby," he begged as he held the carrots against my cheek. "Say something, please. Call me an asshole. Call me anything you want. God, I'm so sorry. You shouldn't have talked about my parents, though. I told you never to do that, baby," he explained. _

_He was right. I had caused him to snap because of my mention of his parents. He wouldn't have hit me had I not said anything about them. This was my fault._

_"James," I began, taking the bag of frozen carrots out of his hand and placing it on the kitchen table. I took his hand in mine and laced our fingers. That simple action gave me comfort. It must have given him comfort, too, because the corners of his mouth upturned just a bit. "I shouldn't have said that. I'm sorry. I know they are difficult for you to talk about." My tears were still falling-- though James had already apologised, though I was apologising, and though my voice was steady. _

_"They are. Everything happened so fast, and I didn't have a moment to calm myself before I reacted." I didn't know if he was talking about the situation we now found ourselves in, or something else, because his eyes were distant, detatched, as he said those words. _

_"James, I'm fine." I grabbed the carrots again and placed them back upon my cheek, wincing slightly at the pressure I placed there inadvertantly. He seemed to return back to the moment then, and looked down at me, smiling apologetically. _  
_"Marie, forgive me? I love you. I will never do that again. Please, baby? Forgive me?"_

_"Only if you forgive me, too," I said, taking responsibility for my words and the catalyst for his physical aggression toward me. _

_He reached out and pulled me into a tight hug. All the while as he held me, he murmured, "I'll never do that again, baby. Never. I swear I'll never do that again," over and over until we finaly parted and I went to take a shower. _

_After I took my shower, I saw that the cheek that James had slapped had begun to swell slightly. Anyone who knew me would see the difference in my face, especially because of the reddness, but luckily I knew the reddness could easily be concealed, so it didn't bother me as much. _

_I didn't bother wrapping my hair in a towel, opting instead to let it hang around my shoulders and dry naturally. _

_I stepped out of our bathroom, tying the belt of my thin silk bathrobe around my waist, and found James standing in front of the bed, holding a long velvet box in his hand, closed. He smiled at me apologetically. _

_"Marie, I haven't forgotten that it's your birthday. I actually got you a little something in commemoration of this day, before we had that fight. Take it?" _

_Hesitantly, I took the box from his hands and opened it. Inside there was a very expensive-looking tennis bracelet with square-cut diamonds covering the entire width of it. I must have looked surprised, because James chuckled and said, "yes, it's worth a lot. Put it on." _

_Obediently, I took the bracelet out of its box and slipped it on. Its relative weight was substantial, driving the point home that he had spent a small fortune on it. _

_"Gorgeous," James said roughly as he pulled me by the wrist towards him. I recognised that particular tone; it was filled with raw and unbridled lust. I didn't necessarily object to it, though. We were still in our honeymoon phase, and except for the smack, my birthday had been pretty good. I decided to forget about his outburst and concentrate on the man I loved. _

_It was then that his lips found mine and practically devoured me with them. He brought his hand up behind my head to drive his fingers through my damp hair as his lips continued their assault on mine. He was mindful of my swollen cheek, kissing around the painful area. When his lips reached my ear, they whispered, "happy birthday, Marie," before he made short work of my bathrobe and his clothing and buried himself in me. _

Looking back, I knew I wasn't nearly as upset then as I should have been. The more I look back, the more I hate myself for taking almost as much responsibility as he did for the slap. Apology after apology, I found myself believing that, had I not mentioned his parents, had I not pushed his buttons, he wouldn't have hit me.

Now I know that, regardless of how the fight began, his true nature would have come out in some way or another and the first slap, the first bruise, the first shove, and all subsequent slaps, bruises and shoves would have happened anyway.

I was reminded of my weakness, of my misplaced trust, of my misjudgement, on my birthday. It was the day that everything changed between me and James in our marriage. It was the day that I first allowed James to fully assert his power over me.

This year would be different.

I would make a conscious effort to erase the emotional scars the memories of that birthday had bestowed upon me.

The week of my birthday, I was unable to visit with Edward the whole week because of our conflicting schedules. His residency was nearly done, and it was crunch time--at least that's what he had told me the last time we had dinner together.

The morning of my birthday, which fell on a Sunday, found me sleeping in, something that I loved to do when I could, until about 11am, when a swift and persistent knocking at my door woke me up. Grudgingly, I got up and made my way to the front door. I peered through the side window first, unsure of who it could possibly be since I wasn't expecting anyone. Through the window, I saw someone wearing a baseball cap and holding a rather large looking bouquet of flowers. I sighed in relief and opened the door.

"Good morning!" the chipper delivery man greeted. "Ms. Swan?" I nodded.

"These are for you, then. I take it that it's your birthday." I nodded again.

"Well, then, happy birthday, Ms. Swan! All the best!" he said enthusiastically, bringing a smile to my face. He must have loved his job. He extended the large vase filled with red, white, and pink roses towards me.

I took it carefully in my arms, thanked him and shut the door behind me with my hip. I placed the vase on the kitchen counter and searched briefly for the card amidst what looked like more than a dozen roses. My fingers grazed the small card and I pulled it up to eye level. The inscription made me smile:

_  
**We hope that this is the first of many, many more  
**__**happy birthdays for you in Forks.  
We cannot wait to see you again!  
Our flight is booked! We'll be in Forks before you know it!  
With love,  
Carlisle and Esme **_

I beamed at reading that they were coming soon. I had to call them to thank them for the roses, and ask when exactly they were coming. It wasn't as if I wasn't already more than ready to host them, but knowing how to plan out my time while they were in Forks would be helpful.

I ran up the stairs and grabbed the cell phone Esme had hooked up for me, which was always in my purse unless it was charging. I hit the speed dial number for Carlisle and Esme's home and waited.

It rang and rang.

Finally, the answering machine picked up. I did the calculation of the hour difference quickly. It was about 2 o'clock in the afternoon in Boston. Perhaps they were out, enjoying a typical September day in Boston. The brief image of my house back in Boston with the front lawn covered with red and orange and yellow leaves sent small pangs of homesickness through me.

It then occurred to me in that moment after the homesickness subsided that, even though I felt a certain kind of affection towards Carlisle and Esme as I would to my own parents, I knew next to nothing about them, except that Carlisle and Esme were married, and the parents of three children. I didn't know any of their interests, if they went to church on Sundays, or for that matter, if they were even religious people or not. I had a feeling that I had a lot to learn about them, and that when they arrived, I'd make it my mission to learn as much as I could about them in the weeks they were going to stay with me.

I decided against calling Esme's cell, opting instead to leave them a sweet voicemail at home, thanking them heartily for the flowers, for thinking of me today, and asking them to call me when they got in.

I took a moment to nearly bury my nose in the many roses' petals and inhale the light fragrance the roses were releasing into the kitchen. When I emerged from smelling the flowers, I heard another knock at the door, only I knew exactly whose knock that was.

Edward always knocked three times, with a small pause between the first and second knock. I grinned at my realization, since I had never acknowledged that I recognized something so miniscule as that.

I returned to the front door and opened it, seeing Edward looking as handsome as ever, wearing pressed khaki pants and a light blue La Coste polo shirt. His hair was untamed, as usual, but it appeared slightly less than normal. Both of Edward's arms were behind his back, and he looked almost bashful.

"Good morning, beautiful," he said, smiling brightly. He leaned over the threshold and placed a sweet kiss upon my lips, and then another on my forehead. "Happy birthday," he stated quietly.

"Thanks," I replied, nodding toward him with a sugar-sweet smile on my face. "Whatcha got there behind your back?"

"Well, that depends. This can either be your first birthday present, or just something that a guy would give his girlfriend just to say he cares. You choose." He returned my smile and waited for my answer.

"Girlfriend?" I asked with a slight air of surprise and a grin. It wasn't a bad word to use, but we hadn't used it yet, and I wanted to make sure I wasn't hearing things.

"Well, I mean, I'd like to call you that, because I think that's what you are to me." He looked almost embarrassed. Wanting to end his embarrassment, I grinned wider and nodded.

"You're right. I am your girlfriend. I just never thought of us in that way. But it sounds right."

He visibly relaxed once those words slipped from my mouth.

He breathed in quickly, his resolve obviously returning. "So, then, what have you chosen?"

I giggled. "Um, how about an everyday boyfriend-type gift?"

"Sounds good," he replied, bringing his concealed arms out in front him, presenting a small envelope to me. Confused, I reached for it and opened it.

Inside, there was a small piece of paper, with the words, "_Have lunch with me, birthday girl_" written on it. Behind the paper, there was a folded map with several locations circled and starred.

"Of course I'll have lunch with you," I said with a smile, then motioned to the map in my hand. "What's the map for?" I asked him curiously.

"Well, I know you haven't really seen much of the peninsula since you moved, so I'd like to take you to see some of it. More specifically, the wineries in the Port Angeles area," he flipped the map to the back and it showed a detailed list of seven different wineries, their addresses, and the time we were expected to be there. I didn't miss that, along the bottom, there was a stamp saying _PAID_.

"This is an open-ended itinerary for a wine region tour," he continued, pointing along the list. "I haven't chosen a date because I don't want to force you to go if you aren't comfortable with the idea of a day trip with me. Besides, we would need to..." he trailed off a moment, looking just the tiniest bit ill at ease.

"What?" I asked, trying to coax the answer out of him.

"Uh, spend the night there," he said, then rushed to say, "we'll get two separate rooms. I'm not suggesting that we'll be sleeping together, I just thought for safety's sake, we'd stay the night because it's an all-day trip, and we'll probably be too tired to drive home after that and--" I cut him off at that moment by putting my hand up and smiling at him.

I knew his intentions were honourable. The thought of spending the night with him both terrified and thrilled me. Prior to James' usage of sex as a weapon against me and my sensibilities, I had only ever been with one man before, and that was my husband. I still shuddered when I thought about sex because of how it had been a device to impose fear and power upon me. I knew that, if and when the time came, things would Edward would be entirely different. If his personality and understanding nature was any indication, we wouldn't be having sex at all. It would be infinitely more dear, more loving. I knew this for a fact.

"I understand. And thank you for leaving it open-ended. I really appreciate the gesture. And you're right; I'm not entirely comfortable with the idea of staying somewhere overnight, but it would have nothing to do with who I was with," I reassured, reaching for his hand. He grinned at my words. He obviously had no idea what his presence did to me and for me.

"Being with you soothes me, Edward," I confessed, feeling my cheeks becoming red from my normal blush. "So when we decide to take the winery tour, I would _have _to stay in the same room with you, simply for the fact that you could help me relax while in a strange place." I ended my sentence with a smile, confirming to him that I was happy about the idea.

"We wouldn't have to do anything you don't want--"

"Edward," I stopped him once again. "I know. Thank you."

I became bold, leaned in, and kissed him sweetly on his lips. Instead of the kiss ending quickly, I lingered on his lips longer than usual. I felt Edward creep his hand up to my cheek, as he had the night he confessed that he had feelings for me, and rub it gently with the soft pads of his fingers.

After a few minutes, I felt him pull away and groan. Our lips weren't touching, but Edward leaned back toward me and before I knew it, our foreheads were touching.

"Sorry, Bella," he began, still caressing my face. "I got carried away there," he sighed then. "But sometimes I can't help myself. I love kissing you."

His admission made my blush return, and my own sigh to escape my lips.

"I love kissing you, too," I replied quietly. "It's one of my favourite things to do with you, actually."

He let his hands drop to his sides and then took my hands in his and took one step backwards to look me in the eye.

"There are so many things I want to do with you, for you. I just don't want to rush you into any of those things unless you're ready."

I knew this particular topic of conversation was going to come up eventually. Taking a deep breath, I steadied myself and replied.

"The pace we're going at is great, but the closeness between us is even better. I know you won't hurt me, so if you feel like kissing me, please do," I added with a smile, rubbing the back of his hand slowly with my thumb.

"Ok, I think I'll be taking you up on your offer more often than not," he laughed, placing a small kiss on my nose. "Thank you."

"No, no," I teased, smiling widely. "Thank you. For the winery tour, which I am definitely looking forward to when we decide on a date, and for lunch."

"How do you know that you'll enjoy lunch?" Edward asked, an eyebrow raised slightly, mockingly.

"I haven't had a meal with you yet that I haven't enjoyed. I'm willing to bet that I'll enjoy this one, too."

"Well then, birthday girl," he looked me up and down briefly. "You go get dressed, and meet me at my house as soon as you're ready. Say twenty minutes?"

I nodded. It would take me ten if it meant I would be seeing Edward sooner.

"See you then," I said as Edward leaned in and kissed my lips once more before leaving. I shut the door and ran up the stairs, eager to get ready for lunch with my boyfriend.

Nine minutes later, I stood at Edward's door wearing a long denim skirt with flip flops and a dark blue tank top under a white blouse. Edward answered the door, and it boggled my mind that he appeared to have gotten more handsome since I had seen him nine minutes earlier.

"Come on in, love," he said as he stepped aside to let me in.

As always, he had the table set impeccably, and the meal was delectable.

He had made four small calzones, and stuffed them with cheese, bacon, and lots of mushrooms, since he quickly learned that they were my favourite.

After I insisted on helping with the dishes, and the dining room was put back to normal, Edward took my hand.

"Thank you for lunch, Edward," I murmured as he pulled me toward him to embrace me. He swept a lock of hair behind my ear and kissed my temple.

"It was my pleasure," he replied. We stood in the doorway between the kitchen and the living room, relishing in our closeness. Always the gentleman, he kept his kisses tender and his touches gentle. I couldn't believe my luck.

"What do you want to do today, since you're the birthday girl," he asked, motioning to me to sit on one of his modern, yet comfortable chairs in the sitting room just beyond the front foyer of his home.

Taking my seat, I sighed. I was stuffed from lunch, and content to spend my entire day with Edward, trying to forget the reason my birthday caused my breathing to become shallow and my palms to become clammy.

"Can we just walk Bolt and go from there?"

Edward nodded and smiled his breathtaking smile.

"I like the way you think," he said. He whistled, calling Bolt to us. Within an instant, the beautiful Husky came bounding towards us and licked Edward's hand.

"Good boy," he cooed, patting the dog's head.

"You know, I've never been a fan of pets, but Bolt is making me change my opinion," I commented, using my nails and scratching the dog's back gently. Bolt seemed to like that because he turned and began nudging my hand and attempting to lick my hand.

"I'm glad one of us is changing the way you think," Edward mused, raising his gaze from Bolt to my eyes. I felt a blush rising in my cheeks.

"You both are," I admitted timidly, reaching out and grazing his shoulder with my fingertips.

"I hope so, Bella." His voice held so much sincerity within it. I looked down and saw Bolt sitting at Edward's and my feet, awaiting his next command. Edward looked down at him and then back at me.

"Since you made me promise not to get you a cake or anything birthday-related, I hope you'll settle for a _little_ something in commemoration of your twenty-seventh year," he said, looking mischevious.

"What? No, Edward, please don't tell me you bought me another present! The winery tour was more than enough..." I whined, shaking my head miserably.

"I know you don't like surprises, but I know you'll like this. Besides, I didn't buy you anything else," he replied, taking my hand in his and kissing it sweetly once. I was melting in his hands as we spoke.

I let out a breath, feeling my resolve crack. "Alright. After we walk Bolt," I reasoned. He nodded.

"Perfect," he replied with a smile. "Let's go now, then." He stood up and started walking towards the front door, Bolt happily wagging his tail behind him. I was about to follow when I realised that he hadn't yet gotten Bolt's leash.

"You go on ahead, Edward. I'll get Bolt's leash."

I heard Edward say his thanks as I turned back into the kitchen and looked for the leash. I had seen it only a half hour before, hanging on a hook above Bolt's food and water bowls. I walked swiftly towards the kitchen, finding the leash and pulling it from its spot on the hook.

I walked back towards the front door casually, but stopped when I heard Edward talking outside to someone and Bolt barking excitedly.

I picked up my pace and opened the door, scanning the front yard quickly before spotting two very familiar people with Edward.


	12. The Big Reveal

_**I'm not Stephenie Meyer. This story is written for entertainment, not profit...don't sue me. Pretty please?**_

Thanks to everyone for your reviews!! You guys rock!!

Yet again, thanks to Meghan for beta'ing not one, but two chapters this time around!!

This chapter kept growing and growing, so much so that by the time I realized it, I was at 6000 words...so I split up the chapter. Hence, chapter 13 is about 99% ready!

As a side note, I just want to acknowledge that yes, I realize that this story line is a bit predictable. I do have some twists in the works, but do keep in mind that I am taking the basic plotline of this story from a movie (which was predictable enough as it was)...I'm trying! Really, I am!!

With all that being said, I still hope you enjoy!

* * *

"Esme? Carlisle? What are you guys doing here?"

Carlisle was patting Edward on the back and Esme was beaming happily beside him when I walked out the front door and spotted them. They both looked ecstatic to see Edward, judging by the monster-sized smiles on both of their faces. I noticed that there were two large suitcases and two small carry-on sized suitcases beside those on Edward's front lawn, thrown haphazardly on the grass. There was also a shiny black Cooper Mini parked on my driveway across the street. I surmised that Esme and Carlisle had just arrived from the airport, and had rented that cute little vehicle on my driveway.

Bella!" Esme exclaimed as the look of recognition appeared upon her face.

I went down the porch steps towards Esme and Carlisle, who wore ear-to-ear smiles on their faces. Once I reached them, I handed Edward the leash numbly and looked back at Esme and Carlisle. Esme didn't even hesitate; she pulled me toward her and enveloped me in a maternal sort of hug, rubbing my back with her hand. I couldn't help but smile at seeing her, even though I was completely confused by her and Carlisle's presence at Edward's door.

Esme let go of me and Carlisle stepped forward to give me a warm hug as well. I enjoyed the hug, trying to throw all my emotions into the embrace. "It's wonderful to see you, Bella," he said as he dropped his arms from around me and put one of them around his wife.

"It's great to see you, too," I began, still confused as to why they had been hugging Edward. I felt my eyebrows scrunch together in confusion. I couldn't help but sound suspicious when I opened my mouth again. "But how did you know I was visiting Edward? And how do you three know each other?"

Both Esme and Carlisle looked a bit embarrassed.

"Well, dear, Edward is our son."

My jaw must have dropped all the way to the ground, because it felt like it. Needless to say, I was shocked.

"What?" I looked at her, then Carlisle, and then Edward. The resemblance was definitely there between Esme and Edward. Esme and Edward shared the same heart-shaped faces, and there was something about their smiles that were similar to me. He was definitely Esme's son. How had I not seen the resemblance before?

And I remembered that Carlisle had told me that he and Esme had a son who was my age. Edward _was _my age, with a difference of a few months.

Suddenly, I felt like the proverbial wool had been pulled over my eyes.

I went through a range of emotions in a matter of seconds; I felt angry, I felt hurt, I felt as if I had been the only one not in on a joke. And the worst part about the whole situation was that I was pretty sure that Esme and Carlisle didn't look surprised to see me at Edward's house in the least. The anger boiled up to the surface then.

"Why didn't you tell me that your son lived in Forks?" I demanded, my voice louder than it had been the last time I opened my mouth.

My pride was hurt because I felt more like a kept mistress now than ever before.

Why hadn't Esme and Carlisle told me that their son was still in Forks, or that the house that I bought was directly across the street from his?? I was pretty sure that I had told them what my street was named. Besides, it wasn't as if it would never have come up in conversation. There were plenty of opportunities for them to let me know that I was moving to a town in which their children lived.

Was this their intention, then, that Edward get close to me to keep an eye on me, to make sure that I was doing ok? Was this the reason why Esme was never overly worried when she hadn't spoken to me in a few weeks? Because she had her son keeping tabs on me??

My mind began to run wild with all these various scenarios. As it did, I became more and more upset.

"Bella," Esme tried to begin, but I cut her off by looking over at Edward with angry eyes. He hadn't said anything since I had stepped off the porch to meet them.

"Wait, hold on," I stammered. "Was _this,"_ I waved my hand at Esme and Carlisle, "your surprise, Edward? Did they tell you about me? Did they tell you to keep an eye on me?"

Edward suddenly looked shocked. He lifted his hands up in protest. "What? No! I had no idea, Bella. This is just as big a surprise for me as it is for you!"

I glanced over at Carlisle, who ran his hand on the back of his neck nervously. I had never seen him do anything like that before. He was always so confident and sure of himself.

"I don't believe you!" I yelled, returning my stare to Edward.

My loudness must have startled Bolt, because he began barking excitedly at Edward, jumping up on his legs. Edward distractedly called out to the dog and made him sit. The dog obediently did as he was told and sat, watching the entire scene before him with attentive eyes, as if he understood what was happening.

"Bella," Carlisle tried again, walking towards me with his palms out. "He has--well, had--no idea. This is all a big miscommunication."

"If that's so, why didn't you just tell me that your children lived in Forks? Why did you hide that from me? Are your sons both watching me?"

I felt paranoia creeping up on me as the words left my lips. Could that have been the reason why, during the 4th of July barbeque, Emmett's wife wasn't very pleasant with me? Because she knew something about all this, and somehow disapproved of everything that Carlisle and Esme had done for me? Edward had assured me that she had her own issues, but maybe he was lying then, too...

"No, Bella, please be reasonable. We'd never do that to you. Besides, we gave you that apartment on the other side of Forks, far away from Edward or Emmett or our daughter, Alice."

That name clicked with me. Guessing that this town just was _that_ small, I blurted, "You mean Alice, the owner of Scraps?"

Esme and Carlisle nodded. In my frustration, I made a noise that probably sounded much like a growl.

This figured. I had somehow managed to come into contact with all three of Esme and Carlisle's kids in the short time I'd been in Forks.

"You know her, too?" Carlisle asked incredulously.

"Yeah, we've met. There isn't a lot to do in this town, and her store is close to the grocery store."

Esme gave me a small smile at that.

"We gave you that apartment to avoid just this situation," Esme reasoned gently, trying to diffuse my anger. "We didn't want you to think that we wanted to relocate you here because our children were here. We knew how much your independence would mean to you when you were starting over.

But you moved to Cedar Glen Gate all on your own, dear," she continued, speaking softly and calmly. "It was fate that placed you on the same street as our sons, and right across the street from Edward." She finished her sentence with a smile in Edward's direction.

There was a heavy tension in the air, no doubt caused by my accusations of deceit, despite Esme and Carlisle's attempts at reasoning.

Carlisle walked up to me and placed a fatherly hand on my shoulder in an effort to calm me down.

"Our children are not keeping tabs on you or reporting back to us in any way, shape, or form. In fact, Edward was completely unaware of the circumstances surrounding your relocation to Forks," Carlisle offered in a similarly calm and understanding tone as Esme's. Carlisle's hand dropped to his side and ran through his hair.

I glanced at Edward, who had a deer-lost-in-the- headlights look to him since I had accused them of lying to me. He looked at me, then at each of his parents, before turning back to look at me again.

"Can someone _please_ tell me what the _hell _is going on?" Edward asked, looking between the three of us. Something clicked in his mind, it seemed, because a different look graced his face.

Before Carlisle, Esme, or I could even begin to explain, I saw it. A look of recognition appeared on Edward's handsome features.

"Relocated? Does this mean that you were Bella's saviours?" he ventured, his voice laced with pure disbelief. "You guys helped her escape James?"

Having Edward sum it up so simply, using the name of my tormentor so casually, made me shiver. Had my plight been so simple that it could be reduced to one simple sentence?

I wrapped my arms around my chest to stop any further shivers. My face must have looked terrible because I looked up to see three pairs of concerned eyes watching me worriedly. Edward seemed to be pulled out of his shocked daze, because he took a step towards me with a hand out.

"Bella, are you alright?" he asked, his forehead creased with worry. I shook my head and put my hand out, warning him to stay where he was. He obliged, but I could tell he was still as confused as I was.

I wasn't ready for him to come up to me just yet. I was still incredibly wary of the whole situation.

"This is insane," I said cryptically. The worried faces all became a bit more worried at my words.

It was Esme who tried next, except that she didn't stop until she was standing right in front of me, with her hands on the tops of my shoulders, calming me down incredibly. She looked over her shoulder at Edward.

"Yes, Edward, we helped her leave Boston and escape her husband," she stated matter-of-factly. She then returned her eyes in my direction.

"I know we should have told you our children lived here, but we were afraid you'd have the same reaction to our suggestion that you're having now that you know. Carlisle and I only wanted to start you off somewhere far away from him, from your old life, and we knew that this small town had the potential to help you. I know that because it helped me when I needed to start over." Esme finished with a small knowing smile.

It suddenly clicked in my head--Esme was Edward's mother, the same mother Edward had confided in me that had been in an abusive relationship, the same mother who had Carlisle's help to move on.

"Oh God," I muttered, feeling tears in my eyes. "I...I am so sorry, Esme...Edward told me about...I..."

Having her before me, confirming that she had been a victim of abuse as well made everything too real to me. I had felt a connection with her as we travelled across the country together all those months ago, and never suspected that the reason behind her endless compassion was because she, too, had been a victim of abuse. I had always just assumed that she was a psychologist or a social worker. She had always known what to say or do to make me feel at ease with her, and now I knew why. We had so much in common, and it all crashed down on me at that moment.

Esme smiled sadly at me. Carlisle had the same matching smile on his face as he reached Esme and held her hand, most likely for support.

"Edward told you about my own experience," Esme confirmed, stepping forward to wipe a few stray tears from under my eyes with her soft fingers. "I figured as much. Edward would have tried anything to help you open up. My son is a good man who just happens to be quite perceptive."

Esme's smile was one full of pride for her son. Evidently, his perceptiveness had come from her, because she obviously divined that he'd attempted to befriend me and gain my trust successfully by relaying what he knew about her abuse to me.

"And don't apologise, please, Bella," she continued. "Carlisle and I should be apologizing to you. I'm sure you feel as if we betrayed you. It was never our intention to lie to you, or omit information. We just thought it would be easier if you didn't know that our children lived in Forks. Then you told us you were moving to Cedar Glen Gate, and fate seemed to step in.

"We should have told you then, because we knew there would be a chance that you'd at least run into one of our sons, if not Alice. But you never talked about your neighbours," Esme paused, glancing back at Edward. "As for Edward, he never mentioned any new neighbours, either. Hence, we assumed that you two had never come into contact with one another."

Esme shook her head and took my hand, apologetic eyes boring into mine, pleading with me to forgive their owner.

"Regardless of the reasons behind our omissions, we are so sorry for all of this. Up until about ten minutes ago, Edward had no idea about any of it. He didn't know we helped anyone move out here. It simply wasn't our secret to tell him, dear."

I knew at that moment that was the reason why I had felt so betrayed; I assumed that Edward had pretended not to know any of my story, that Esme and Carlisle had told him all about the escape, and that his worry, care, and affection for me wasn't genuine. But, as I looked at his features after Esme apologised and saw an understanding and relief I hadn't seen on his face before, I knew I had nothing to worry about.

I sighed, wiping the rest of my tears with the back of my free hand, and patted Esme's hand. "I'm sorry," I looked at both of them, and then Edward, "for snapping. I just thought that...I mean...well, I don't know what I mean. I kind of feel a bit foolish now..."

It was Carlisle that came up to me and put an arm around me. "You shouldn't." He glanced over at Edward, who was standing the furthest away from us as we spoke. "How much does he know about your past?" he asked me quietly. I watched Edward and motioned for him to come closer to me.

"Almost everything," I said, still looking into Edward's eyes as he approached. After what felt like an hour, Edward came to my side and I reached for his hand, which he took eagerly, "but still not enough. There are some significant gaps," I continued, returning my gaze to Carlisle and Esme. They noticed our hands intertwined, and I watched as their faces lit up in much the same way as Edward's did when he smiled.

"Are you two seeing each other?" Esme asked expectantly.

"Yeah, Mom, we are," Edward answered, the pride in his voice making me nearly swoon. I turned and looked into his eyes again, and saw the love that I knew I was starting to feel in my own heart reflected in his eyes. I felt him rub the back of my hand with his thumb.

Suddenly, Carlisle chuckled quietly, covering his mouth with his hand to stifle his laughter. Esme turned to him and smacked him playfully on the back.

The tension in the air had officially disappeared.

Edward and I watched this exchange and looked back at each other, incredibly confused. Esme giggled and put a hand on Edward's shoulder.

"Your father told me from the moment he met Bella that, if you ever met her, you'd fall head over heels for her. I didn't want to entertain the idea, but apparently," she smiled at her husband, then back at us, saying as quietly as possible, "he was right."

"What was that, dear?" Carlisle asked teasingly. "Did you just happen to admit that I was right?"

Esme sighed dramatically, throwing her hands up into the air. "Yes," she laughed. "You were right," she replied louder than before, turning back to us. "And I'm glad, son. Bella is a beautiful woman, inside and out."

"That I already know, Mom." He leaned in and kissed my temple before wrapping his arm around my shoulder and pulling me closer toward him.

Carlisle cleared his throat, finally done with his bout of victory laughter, and smoothed out his suit jacket with his hands.

"How about we put our suitcases away and talk over some lunch," he suggested, tilting his head toward Edward's house behind us and bending down slightly to grab both handles of the suitcases.

"Actually, Dad, we just ate, but it looks like you need a coffee," Edward replied.

"And besides, I told you that I was more than willing to have you guys stay with me," I chimed in. "The offer still stands. Unless you'd rather stay across the street--"

Esme shook her head and picked up the handles on her luggage. "No, dear, we'd love to see your house! Let's go!" she said excitedly, motioning for all of us to follow her. We did just that, Edward and I, holding each other's hands.

We walked across the street, trailing behind Esme and Carlisle. Once they reached my porch steps, they moved to the side to allow me to unlock and open the front door. I walked in first, holding the door open for them. Esme and Carlisle stepped over the threshold and rolled their suitcases against the wall. I peered over them and saw Edward still standing on the porch, looking hesitantly at me.

He had never been in my house before, and he knew this all too well.

This was a big step. Even if Esme and Carlisle were there, having Edward in my house was another way that I could help immerse him in my life. It would affirm to him and to myself that I was making the right choice of allowing him in.

"Edward," I said, stepping out again toward him. He looked unsure, apprehensive. I needed to remove that look of uncertainty from his face. Taking a deep breath, I reached for his hand. "Come in."

He watched my face for a moment before nodding and giving me a promising smile.

*****

Hand in hand, I gave Edward (and his parents) the grand tour of my humble home. I started in the foyer, the living room, and then worked to the kitchen. Esme was delighted by the colours I chose for those rooms, and they all wore wonderful smiles as I showed them around.

It didn't feel odd or out of place to have Edward in my home; just _different_. I wasn't uncomfortable or nervous at all, save for the fact that I knew that these three had a vast amount of money, and I was nervous that my humble home would make it look like I lived in squalor in comparison to their own homes.

I knew it was foolish of me to think like that, since Carlisle, Esme, and Edward had never once given me the impression that they were petty or materialistic like that. It didn't stop the thought from sneaking its way into my mind at least once as I showed them around. For that reason, I kept the descriptions of each room simple and concise, mentioning more than once that most of the furniture was already here when I purchased the house. Humouring me I think, the three of them would nod and smile.

Somehow, it worked out that my bedroom was the last room to show my guests before the room I had arranged for them while they stayed with me.

We reached the master bedroom and I allowed my guests a moment to take in the room.

It wasn't nearly as big as the bedroom I shared with James in Boston, but I was quite happy with its size. It fit the double sized bed just perfectly, allowing just enough space on one side for a nightstand. Directly in front of the bed, maybe five feet away, there was a dresser with a large antique-looking mirror that the previous owner's children had left in the garage. Painting its frame and hanging it in my bedroom had been rewarding because I had saved a heap of money refurbishing it, and it looked wonderful where I had placed it. I was proud of my little bedroom, and my guests seemed to approve of my decorating choices.

"Well," I said, digging my hands into my pockets. "You guys must be exhausted from your flight. I'll let you guys get settled in, and Edward and I will be downstairs whenever you're ready, making some coffee and tea."

Esme and Carlisle smiled appreciatively. Even though they both wore smiles, I could tell that travelling was beginning to take its toll on them. They would probably need a nap soon if they were going to stay awake for much longer.

"Thank you, Bella," Esme said, bending down to her luggage. Carlisle followed suit as I pulled Edward along with me.

We reached the kitchen and I instantly went to my cupboard where I stored all the fixings for coffee and tea. I pulled the kettle out from under the sink and sighed, stopping for a moment when I felt Edward's watchful eyes on me.

"What a day," I said casually; ignoring the look he was giving me. It was his _please talk to me _look. His eyes were pleading with me to let him into my mind.

"Bella," he half-scolded, and took a step towards me. "My parents being the ones who helped you leave Boston...it's more than a little weird. I want to make sure you're alright with all of this."

"I admit it's a lot to take in. Thinking back, I'm almost ashamed that I didn't see the resemblance between you and Esme when I first met you," I said thoughtfully.

I took the kettle in my hand and held it under a stream of cold water from the tap. I then placed it upon the hot stovetop to boil.

A moment later, Edward's hands were on mine, and his trademark worried face had made an appearance.

"How do your parents take their caffeinated beverages?" I continued, trying to ignore his persistent look by changing the subject. "Are they milk and sugar type of people, or are they fully American and enjoy their half and half?"

"Sweetheart," Edward said, gazing into my eyes intensely, "stop, please," he said, forcing me to stop fiddling with the kettle and the mugs before me. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," I huffed lightly, patting his hand and returning my attention to the cupboard behind me to set the table with desert plates and coffee mugs. I happened to glance back at him and saw that he looked like he didn't believe me in the slightest. "This is actually great," I confirmed, pulling out the plates and setting the table with them. "I wanted you to meet the two people who saved me from the distinct possibility of being killed by my husband, and--"

"What do you mean, distinct? Had he explicitly threatened your life before you left?"

Again, I sighed. I turned and faced him.

In that exact moment, Esme and Carlisle came down, making enough noise with their feet that we heard their descent down the stairs.

"I'm in need of caffeine," Esme commented lightly as she and Carlisle entered the kitchen. They knew they had interrupted something; I could read the remorse on their faces. I lifted my hand and smiled apologetically.

"Take a seat. The water's nearly ready." I turned to get the boiling kettle from the stove when I heard Edward speaking in a firm voice with his parents.

"I think we need to talk," he said. I spun around with the kettle in my hand, watching my guests interacting.

Carlisle looked solemn, while Esme leaned over and watched me.

"I think it _is_ best," Carlisle stated. "Is this alright? If we sit and talk?" he asked carefully.

I was about to negate the suggestion when Esme said, "He needs to know, Marie," earnestly.

She used my name, my _real _name, and it made the shiver return. I hadn't been called that in months. It only reminded me of _him_.

It hadn't gotten past Edward that Esme had addressed me with something other than _Bella_. He looked surprised and confused.

"What? _Marie_?"


	13. Complete Disclosure

_**I'm not Stephenie Meyer. This story is written for entertainment, not profit...don't sue me. Pretty please?**_

I simply cannot believe the response to this story on !! I am constantly receiving notifications of people adding the story to their list of favourite stories, or me to their list of favourite authors, and it's overwhelming (in a good way) !! Thank you!!!

Yet again, thanks to Meghan for beta'ing.

* * *

Edward's face showed that he was quickly becoming annoyed and even slightly angry. Esme, Carlisle, and I were being unhelpful and unnecessarily cryptic. She was right; we needed to sit down and talk about everything. It was time.

I nodded at Esme, motioning with my head that I needed her help with setting the table. She understood and walked over to me, putting a comforting hand on my shoulder.

"He'll be fine, dear. Edward will understand," she murmured as she walked past me, grabbing the instant coffee jar, the box of earl grey tea, and some mugs in her capable hands.

The tension that I had felt when I accused Edward, Esme, and Carlisle of lying had returned, dropping a thick and heavy mood upon my kitchen table.

I picked up the remaining items and placed them on the table, waving to everything.

"Help yourselves, please," I said. I looked down at Edward with an almost desperate gaze. "We _will_ talk. Let your parents get settled first, and then we'll try to explain everything."

I sat down beside Edward and across from Esme and Carlisle, and took a mug from the centre of the table. I set to work, preparing my own coffee, while Carlisle did the same, and Esme pulled a tea bag out of the box. Edward, though, remained still, not touching anything I had put out, watching me once again with those careful, worried eyes of his.

Carlisle was the first to notice the concerned look Edward was giving me. He was pouring the water into his own mug when he began to speak, keeping his eyes fixed on preparing his coffee.

"Last winter, I was called to attend to a young woman named Marie who had apparently fallen down the stairs," he began as he dropped two spoonfuls of instant coffee into his mug of hot water, then one heaping spoonful of sugar. His voice remained professional, but it grew softer and more compassionate as he went on. "She was covered in bruises and abrasions that couldn't be explained by a fall. Her chart also told of countless other trips to the hospital, of which her most recent was an admission to the ER because she'd miscarried only hours before her _fall_," he stated, putting emphasis on the word _fall_.

The revelation made Edward gasp, while it made me suddenly emotional. I felt my lip quiver at the memory of being told that I had lost the baby. That was followed instantly by warm tears rolling down my cheek.

"I read and re-read her chart," he continued, picking up the spoon to his left and stirring his coffee with it slowly, clinking the spoon rhythmically on the sides of the mug. "I knew something wasn't right. No one could be that unlucky. So I confronted her about her injuries." Carlisle finally looked up from his coffee and gazed at me with the same kindness I remembered seeing that day in the hospital. Edward moved his chair closer beside me and placed an unsteady hand over mine on the table.

"She denied it at first, of course, citing her clumsiness as the reason for her fall. I called her out on it, though. Once her tears told me I was right, I offered to help her."

"That's where I come in, dear," Esme interposed, turning to face me, though I knew the story by heart. It was, however, a different perspective on the situation. "Carlisle told me about the situation, and I knew he had done the right thing in offering our help to you."

Carlisle sighed and nodded at his wife. "Yes, we probably broke hundreds of laws in the process, but I don't regret our actions."

"Not for a minute," Esme concurred, smiling at her husband, satisfied.

These two wonderful people had risked so much for me, but I hadn't realized until that very moment what would have happened had they been caught smuggling me across the country. Both their careers would have been over. They might have even gone to jail because of me. Just because they had taken pity on me and wanted to save me from an existence of violence, abuse, and emotional distress, their entire lives could have been over.

I smiled a watery smile in their direction and sniffled, wiping my eyes of the fat tears that were still falling from them. I made a mental note to thank them again and again after our little family talk was done, not to mention apologize profusely for my terrible behaviour only hours ago as I accused them of betraying my trust.

An audible sigh came to my right from Edward. I looked at his expression, and saw that he was still trying to process all this information. His hand still lay over mine on the table. I slipped mine out from under his and patted it.

"You alright?" I asked him.

He looked as if I had just grown a third ear on my forehead, and then smiled at me weakly.

"You need to stop asking if everyone else is alright," he replied quietly, shaking his head. He slid his arm around my shoulder again comfortingly.

Carlisle chuckled again and tilted his head at his wife, who smiled back at him.

"See? What did I tell you, Esme? They are perfect for one another," Carlisle commented softly, causing us to both look up at him. He grinned sheepishly at us.

"I drove her across Massachusetts to La Guardia Airport in New York. Two flights and three and a half hours of driving later, we were here," Esme said before taking a sip of her tea. "Your father stayed in Boston, preparing forged documents for Marie to start her life over. Once they were done, he sent them to us. On them, he gave her a new name, and Bella Swan was born."

I smiled at Esme.

"Marie." It was Edward who said the name, but it didn't register that he was talking about me until I felt his arm slide up over my shoulders and back down again soothingly. It sounded as if he were trying out the name to see if it fit.

"I like _Bella_ better," I mused, the small smile still residing on my face.

"Me too," Esme replied.

"Suits her much better," Edward added with a small smile in my direction. He then exhaled loudly, puffing out his cheeks briefly. Carlisle eyed his son and frowned.

"Son, this is a very serious situation. Yes, Bella is safe here, but you must remember not to breathe a word of the story we just told you to anyone, not even your siblings. Should James get wind that Bella was somehow still alive, I have a feeling that he wouldn't rest until he found her."

"Dad," Edward breathed, looking almost offended that Carlisle had even insinuated that he'd talk about my past. "I would _never_ do anything to jeopardize her safety. That includes telling _anyone_ about what we've discussed here. I care too much about her to let anything happen to her."

His hold on my shoulders tightened gently as if to convince me of that fact as well. I had come to trust his words and his actions so much that I certainly didn't need convincing. If he promised to help me and keep me safe should I require it, he'd do it. Of that I was absolutely sure.

I watched Carlisle visibly relax in his chair ever so slightly as Edward spoke. I glanced over at Esme, who was smiling into her mug as she took another sip. I cocked an eyebrow at her and waited only moments before we made eye contact.

She cleared her throat quietly and looked up at the two of us, still smiling.

"This is wonderful, the four of us being here," she commented as she gazed lovingly at each of us in succession. "I'm so thankful for it."

"Me, too," I confirmed. "I'm thankful for all three of you." My eyes met Edward's and I saw compassion in them. He leaned over and swept a small lock of hair behind my ear, leaving his fingers lingering briefly upon my cheek. It sent tingles of delight shooting down every nerve ending in my body. Subconsciously, I leaned into his hand, and heard him hum softly in approval. Remembering my previous mental note, I cleared my throat.

"And I'm so incredibly sorry for yelling at you three before. There is no excuse for my words. I should have given you all the benefit of the doubt instead of instantly jumping to the worst possible conclusion." I could see all three of the Cullens in my kitchen about to interpose, but I cut them off. "Please, accept my apologies. Carlisle, Esme, you have been nothing but wonderful to me, risking your careers to help me escape," I turned to Edward then. "And you, being such a caring and understanding friend, and I yell at you the second a question arises." I felt tears of shame of my actions stinging my eyes, so I looked down at my cup.

"Dear, we understand," Esme said gently. "I accept your apology."

"As do I," Carlisle added. Edward's lips to my temple confirmed to me that he accepted it, too. Relief washed over me. I probably wasn't done grovelling over my behaviour, but at least this was a start...

"Esme," Carlisle's voice piped in abruptly, snapping our attention toward him. "We need to get something, remember?" he asked, smiling conspiratorially at his wife. She gasped lightly.

"Oh yes! Edward, Bella," she looked at us, rising from her seat at the table, appearing to suddenly be in a huge rush. Carlisle was doing the same, clearing the table of his now empty coffee mug. "We need to step out for a short while. We shouldn't be long." She took her own empty tea cup and placed it in the sink alongside Carlisle's. I nodded, confused at their sudden need to leave. I reconciled it with the fact that they obviously knew their way around Forks, and probably needed to get something from a store we only had here.

Edward and I took it as our cue to get up and walk them out.

Hurriedly, Carlisle and Esme said their goodbyes and walked briskly to their rented black Cooper Mini. Laughing, Edward and I watched as the car zipped down the street.

"What was that all about?" I asked, figuring he'd know since he was their son. He shrugged.

"No idea. But let's sit out here and wait for them until they get back." He motioned to the ever popular site of our conversations, my two-seater on the porch. I smiled, nodded, and took my seat beside him. Instantly, he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me into a strong embrace. His lips came deliciously close to my ear, and I could feel his warm breath grazing my neck.

"Oh, Bella," he murmured softly. "I'm so very sorry about everything that you went through back in Boston. I'm so so sorry."

"You keep apologizing for things that aren't in your power to control, and you need to stop that." I smiled into his shoulder. I felt a rumble in his chest that told me he was laughing lightly.

"Alright, it's a deal." He leaned away from me and cupped my cheek gently, gazing into my eyes lovingly.

"What puzzles me is why the subject of your last name never came up. I mean, we've known each other for months, and never once did you mention it at all."

He smirked. "It's not just you. I got into the habit of failing to mention it to people because the name _Cullen_ means something in Forks. Most people around here know we're pretty well-off, and some try to take advantage of that; the women especially. They tend to resemble bloodhounds when it comes to sniffing out money. I don't want people to assume I'm riding the coat tails of my parents' success and riches, because I'm not. I'm going to be a doctor on my own merit."

"But you knew I wasn't from around here. I didn't know you were well off until you told me," I commented.

"It's a force of habit. I knew you weren't like that," he explained, looking sheepish. "I guess it just never came up," he concluded, flashing me a lopsided grin that I loved.

"It's unbelievable, though," I murmured, leaning my head against Edward's shoulder. "What are the odds of the same wonderful parents you gush about being the same two incredible people who saved my life?"

He chuckled and pressed a sweet kiss on my forehead. "I don't know what the odds are, but I do know that your luck is changing." He sighed and tightened his hold on me a bit.

"I was serious when I said I would help you," he continued. "And, if need be, I'll protect you. In any way I can, sweetheart." His voice was so sincere, so full of determination, that I couldn't question it. I sat there, sighing, thanking God and any other force that helped me get to this point in time with Edward, enjoying the closeness that Edward and I shared at that moment.

I felt Edward turn toward me just then, and take my hands in his. His face was at eye level with mine, and I could swear his eyes showed anxiousness. My brow furrowed in confusion. What could he possibly be stressed out about?

He opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by the sound of the Cooper Mini returning, parking on my driveway. We both glanced up to see it and I was blown away by what I saw.

Esme and Carlisle were striding up the driveway with their arms full; Esme held the ribbons to about half a dozen pink helium balloons and an elegantly wrapped rectangular box, while Carlisle held in his arms a large white box that looked like it came from the local bakery. His right arm was laced through a very full-looking shopping bag from the liquor store.

Noticing this, Edward rose and met them on the driveway, taking the box from Carlisle.

"What's all this, guys?" I asked in an almost whiny tone, knowing full well what it was. Judging from how Esme and Carlisle had handled my escape from Boston, it wasn't hard to understand that they had specifically planned to be here for my birthday. Not leaving any detail to chance, they had most likely also planned to have balloons, a cake, presents, and even some alcohol at the ready for when they arrived.

"Sorry, Bella, but Esme and I are suckers for birthdays. We pull out all the stops," Carlisle laughed as the three Cullen's walked back up the porch steps and into the house. I sighed.

"But--"

"I know," Edward murmured in my ear as he passed me on his way into the house. "You didn't want anything birthday related, but it means a lot to them." He kissed me on the cheek before following his parents into the house. I couldn't help but smile at the three Cullen's who had stolen my heart and had already made my birthday so incredibly memorable--for the right reasons.

They had set everything up by the time I entered the kitchen. The cake that had been in that white box Carlisle had been carrying was a chocolate covered birthday cake, complete with frosting and the words Happy Birthday Bella. Atop the cake, there was only one candle, though. Before Carlisle lit it, I had to ask.

"Why only one?"

"This is your first birthday as Bella Swan, dear," Esme replied meaningfully, turning out the light. She, Carlisle, and Edward gathered around me as I stood before the birthday cake.

"Shall we sing, sweetheart?" Edward asked playfully.

"No, no, that's alright, guys. Everything that you guys have done, and continue to do for me, is much better than a birthday song. Thank you for this," I said, turning to smile at each of them appreciatively.

"Well," Carlisle interjected. "Blow out your candle."

"But don't forget to make a wish, love," Edward whispered in my ear. Love? I made a mental note to never forget how that word rolled off his tongue, because it made me beam to hear it.

I leaned down slightly and puckered my lips, thinking of the best wish I could possibly ask for, considering that I had been given a second chance at life; it was already my greatest wish come true.

Decided, I wished that Carlisle and Esme would stay for a while, and that my relationship with Edward only get better from here. In my head, I worded it so that it sounded like only one wish--why push my luck?

Exhaling, I blew the candle out easily. Carlisle and Esme clapped and Edward wrapped his arms around my shoulders and hugged me.

"Are you still opposed to taking my gift?" he asked as he held me. I shook my head, remembering how I had accused him of having Esme and Carlisle visit behind my back, and the embarrassment returned momentarily.

"Ok, mom, dad, I'll be back in a sec," he said, releasing me and heading toward the front door. I heard it close behind him as I began cutting the first slice of the cake.

"You guys are way too much," I muttered as I placed the slice on a small plate.

"If you think the two of us are too much, just wait until Edward gets started." Esme laughed, taking the second slice of cake I cut and sitting down at her original spot at the kitchen table.

"Really?" I cut another slice of cake and handed it to Carlisle.

"Oh yes, our son is a born romantic," he answered, taking his seat beside his wife. He moved toward Esme and kissed her temple lightly. She smiled and sighed.

"Just like his father," she commented, smiling distractedly as she speared some cake with her fork. I found the whole exchange so sweet and endearing that I completely lost my train of thought, and was caught off-guard when two loving arms wrapped around me from behind. My nostrils filled with the familiar scent of Edward's aftershave, and I took a deep breath through my nose to get as much of Edward's personal scent as I could. I hummed in pleasure as I felt him hug me and kiss my cheek chastely.

"Hope you like it," Edward murmured into my ear as he swept my hair to the side and released me from the hug briefly.

I felt something cold and solid dangling from my neck.

Of their own volition, my hands lifted and touched a delicate chain that hung around my neck. From it, there was a pear-shaped pendant. In its centre, there were two stones. The whole pendant was surrounded in cubic zirconias. At least I thought they were cubic zirconias...

I glanced over at Esme and Carlisle. Esme was smiling from ear to ear, looking like she might start crying at any moment, while Carlisle had an unmistakable look of happiness upon his face.

Edward came around to face me, his eyes never leaving the necklace he'd fastened around my neck, like he was surveying a masterpiece in a museum. His eyes travelled up and met mine.

"It's gorgeous on you," he confirmed with a smile. Esme produced a compact mirror just then, and held it up to me. I took it wordlessly and stared into it, seeing the sparkling, brilliant pendant hanging gracefully from the dainty chain around my neck. I gasped when I realized that that shine couldn't come from cubic zirconias. They were diamonds. And there were many of them.

"Edward, this...this is too much," I stuttered, touching the pendant gently with my free hand, making sure of what I was seeing by feeling each diamond beneath my fingers. "This must have cost you a fortune."

He smirked and shook his head, peering back at his parents briefly before replying. I could have sworn that he winked at his dad.

"I told you before; I didn't spend a dime on it. And besides, even if I had spent anything on it, it would have been worth it. It looks like it belongs exactly where it is." He reached over and grazed the chain and pendant slowly with his fingers. I felt my trademark blush return.

"I can't accept this, Edward. It's way too extravagant."

"Bella," Carlisle said, taking one step forward. "It's a Cullen family heirloom. It's been in our family since my great grandfather had it made for my great grandmother. It's been passed down through the generations since."

Esme nodded, a wistful smile gracing her beautiful face. "He gave me that necklace a month before Edward was born. When we left for Boston, I decided to keep it here in case he found someone he'd want to give it to."

Those words made my heart soar a little, but also made me a little terrified too. I felt my face go into full surprise mode: widened eyes, raised eyebrows, gaping mouth.

What did this mean? Did Edward care about me that much? Were his feelings for me that serious? Not that I would complain, because in the time I'd known him, he had proven himself to be absolutely perfect in almost every way, and I quickly found myself wanting to spend every waking hour with him, wanting to do things for him, and, in spite of everything I had gone through because of love, falling for him hard and fast. There was nothing I could do to prevent it, either. With every reassurance he spouted, every kindness he did for me, and every touch, I fell deeper and deeper.

And what of the heirloom? He was obviously one to hold his family in high regard, so logically he'd hold family traditions in high regard, too. He wouldn't hand out family heirlooms like candy. So what did this mean?

Esme nudged Carlisle just then. "Sweetheart, can you help me pick out something to wear for Bella's birthday dinner tonight?" Bless them; they were excusing themselves to allow us alone time to talk. As for this 'dinner' she had mentioned, I'd talk to them about it later...

Carlisle nodded, mumbled an 'excuse us', and followed Esme out of the kitchen.

Edward took my hand in his and stroked the back of it with his thumb.

"Did I scare you with the necklace?"

"Yes and no," I said truthfully. "Yes, because, well, it's a serious gift, with serious implications, but that's part of the reason why it makes me ecstatic to know that you want to give me something this precious."

Edward let my hand go, and cupped my cheek. I really loved him doing that. It was such an intimate gesture, full of promise and passion. He moved closer toward me and stared into my eyes intensely.

"You are even more precious to me than this bauble. I'm sorry I scared you, but I wanted to give you something tangible that showed how crazy I am about you," he murmured passionately. "And I really am, Bella, Marie, whatever your name is," he added playfully. I swatted at him with a smirk.

"The name is Bella, buddy," I laughed, poking him. "Well, it's supposed to be Isabella. It's my real middle name. Carlisle figured it would be safer this way. _He'd_ never suspect..." I trailed off, uneasy about where our conversation was headed. I didn't want to think about James. He was the last person I wanted on my mind, especially since today had been absolutely the best birthday on record for me. Memories of him could only tarnish today. Edward's happy expression diminished slightly as he stared at me.

"Hey, only happy thoughts for the rest of the day, alright?" he said. "It's your birthday, after all."

I nodded into his hand, which still rested upon my cheek, softly stroking it.

"And anyway," he said, his smile returning. "That name really does suit you. You are beautiful," he said seriously again."Please accept the necklace. Please."

I took a deep breath and let it out. I knew my answer, and didn't want to drag out his tension any longer than necessary. I grinned at Edward. I fingered the chain around my neck softly.

"Of course I will."

*****

"We do hope you like this, Bella," Esme called as she entered the living room, holding the elegantly wrapped box in her hands. Carlisle, Edward, and I were seated on my sofa in the living room, each with a refill of our preferred caffeinated drinks, quietly chatting about Carlisle and Esme's experience in Forks when Esme came in brandishing the box.

She sat beside me on the arm of the sofa, extending the box to me with a hopeful look in her eye. I smiled.

"I'm sure I will." I took the box from her and searched for the break between the paper and the box for easier opening. Once I found it, I slipped my fingers under it and ripped the paper from the box.

Once I opened the box, I saw carefully laid white tissue paper layered over something dark. Pulling each layer off, I came closer and closer to what looked like a navy blue piece of fabric. I took the fabric in my hands and held it out, recognizing the seams and the lace. It was a dress. It had very short cap sleeves, and the entire top above the bust was made of navy blue lace. The rest of the dress was made of a soft cotton-like material. From the looks of it, I figured it would come down to right below my knees, which was perfect because I always thought knees were one of the ugliest features on the human body.

"Thank you, guys, really, it's beautiful," I said happily.

"It's for tonight. We wanted to take you to dinner," Carlisle added with a smile.

"About that, guys, I don't know. You have spent far too much money on me already as it is--"

Esme's hand shot up to stop me. "Nonsense, dear. It's your birthday, and we want to take you somewhere nice, so we won't take no for an answer," she glanced over at Edward, who was still holding my hand. "We originally made reservations for three, but while we were out, I called them and added a fourth person to it...if that's alright, dear."

I beamed. "Of course. I mean, if you're up for dinner with us, that is," I said teasingly to Edward.

"No way. I hate eating," he deadpanned. "Especially if it's at Michael's..." he trailed off playfully.

"That's where we were thinking of going," Carlisle replied.

"Uh," he said dramatically, making me giggle. "I guess I'll have to go with you, then!"

Esme laughed. She took the empty box from my hands and discarded it.

"Seeing that it's a Sunday, we made the reservations for six o'clock to give us enough time to eat and be back before ten. Is that alright, or should we save it for sometime during the week?"

"No, no, that's great. Thanks. Really." I had said the words so much today that I was starting to sound like a one-hit wonder. It obviously didn't bother Esme, though. She smiled at me kindly.

"Oh, don't thank us yet until you taste their food. It's divine!" Esme replied, rising from the arm of the sofa.

*****

A few hours later, the four of us were seated at a round table at Michael's in Port Angeles, awaiting our entrées. I wore the gorgeous dress Esme and Carlisle had given me--though their presence was a gift enough for me--and the sparkling necklace Edward had given me securely around my neck.

I sat beside Edward, who had gone home to shower and prepare for dinner soon after I opened my gift, and was dressed in the most incredible pair of black dress slacks, a form fitting black suit jacket and a black dress shirt with the first three buttons open at the neckline. His hair was slightly more tamed than normal, but still incredibly sexy. I had the urge to run my hands through his hair all night, but decided against it.

Carlisle was similarly dressed; he wore a suit jacket and dark pants. His dress shirt was a light blue; a colour I noticed was striking on him because it made his eye colour pop. Esme was at his side, wearing a green knee-length dress with thin straps and a scooping neckline. Over it, she wore a white buttoned sweater with three quarter length sleeves.

All in all, I had to say that we were a sharp looking group. I didn't feel out of place at all to be in the presence of people so beautiful because the dress Esme and Carlisle had given me made me feel almost as beautiful as they were. It was both comfortable and elegant; a combination I didn't think was possible.

"You are beautiful in that dress, love," I heard Edward whisper in my ear beside me, making my arms break out in goose pimples. I must have blushed, too, because my face grew warm. Edward linked his right hand with mine and rested our hands on his knee under the table. He smiled at me.

"Thank your parents for the dress." I smiled.

"I plan on thanking them for much more than that," he replied, planting a soft kiss upon my temple. Esme and Carlisle must have caught the show of affection, because they were both grinning at us when I glanced at them. I cleared my throat, uncomfortable with the sudden attention, and prepared to guide the conversation in another direction entirely.

"Esme, Carlisle, how long are you planning on visiting?"

"We were thinking about staying for two weeks. Carlisle and I both took some time off so that we could visit with our children, so we think that's enough time before you are all sick of us old people," she said with a dismissive wave of her hand.

"You aren't old!" I laughed. "And I wouldn't get sick of you! You can stay with me for as long as you like!"

"Yeah, Mom. The same goes for me, too. And Em and Rosalie, or even Alice, although I know she and her boyfriend just moved in together, so the space might be tight," Edward quipped.

Carlisle chuckled. "Thanks, son. But I think we'll stay with Bella for the two weeks. I think I speak for your mother when I say that we've missed Bella very much." Esme nodded in agreement. He turned his gaze to me, sighed, and smiled. "Look how far you've come from your former life only six months ago. What a change." He sounded so proud, like I was his own daughter. The tone he used caused tears to well up in my eyes.

He was absolutely right. I had been so cut off, so afraid of everything and everyone when I had first arrived in Forks. Slowly, I began opening up to new things, letting Edward into my life, and beginning to live again, little by little.

The waiter came by with our meals and set them in front of us. I was about to dig in when Carlisle took his wineglass in his hand and raised it.

"This evening calls for a toast." We each took our respective glasses in our hands and raised them toward the centre of the table.

"To Bella," Carlisle began. "To the courageous woman you have become, to the life that is now yours to live to the fullest, and to the love that we all have for you. May this be just the first of many wonderful birthdays for you in Forks. Happy birthday, Isabella."

I blushed yet again and we each clinked glasses amidst Esme and Edward's 'hear, hear's.

"Well said, darling," Esme murmured to her husband.

"Thank you for your kind words, Carlisle," I said, losing count of how many times I'd thanked both of them that day. They were beginning to sound insincere to me, even though I was eternally grateful to them.

"They are _all_ true, Bella," Edward whispered meaningfully into my ear as he squeezed my hand briefly. I stared into his eyes and saw there was more behind his words; more feeling, more conviction.

I was probably over-analyzing it, though, so I shook off my feeling and returned to my meal after kissing his cheek in a show of appreciation.

The dinner conversation went well. We didn't mention anything we had behind closed doors. Who knew what someone may hear? Esme and Carlisle talked about their flights, since they had to take connecting flights as we had to when Esme and I were fleeing six months ago. Carlisle joked about someday wanting to have enough money to buy a private jet, to which Esme lightly smacked his shoulder and told him that he shouldn't hold his breath for that day.

It felt like I was a part of this wonderful family, eating, sharing personal stories, and laughing alongside them as if I had been a part of the family forever. My heart swelled at the thought that maybe someday I could really be a legitimate part of the family. I glanced over at Edward and realized that this was the very first time that Edward and I had actually been out in public together. I was suddenly amazed that I hadn't realized that earlier in the evening or that I hadn't had some sort of panic attack at the thought of being out with him. We had always just limited ourselves to dinner at his house, or a porch picnic at mine. I couldn't hold back my smile at the thought of the progress that Edward and I had made just that day alone.

Today was really turning out to be a day of firsts.

As dinner wrapped up, Carlisle insisted on ordering yet another slice of cake for my birthday. I asked for the English bread pudding with caramel sauce, and we shared it between the four of us, since I had been stuffed from my meal.

I was so tired after dinner that, as Edward drove us back to Forks I passed out with my head on the passenger side window. I awoke to a gentle tapping on my shoulder, and then a sweet kiss on the temple.

"Wake up, love. We're home," he murmured into my left ear. I shook my head and stretched a bit before realizing that we were already alone in his car, which was parked on my driveway behind the rented Cooper Mini.

"Esme and Carlisle went inside a few minutes ago. I just couldn't bear to wake you up right away. You looked so peaceful." His hand reached up and pushed a stray lock of hair behind my ear.

"You were watching me sleep?" I asked incredulously, my voice still rough from sleep.

He looked a bit embarrassed. "I was. Is that creepy?" He appeared genuinely worried that I'd find him odd for doing so, but in a strange way, I found it adorable.

"Not really," I assured. "Actually, it's sweet that you would find something as mundane as me sleeping fascinating."

"Nothing about you is mundane, Bella. Everything about you fascinates me. Your eyes, your cheeks, your lips," he breathed as he leaned in and kissed me briefly. "Your mind, your smile, your incredible bravery," he continued, smiling at me. I was going to correct him on the last part, but he put his hand up to stop me. I didn't feel up to debating the bravery he thought I had...

"I have an early day tomorrow, so I'll walk you in so I can say goodnight to my parents, but before I do, I wanted to make sure that you had a good birthday." He smiled hopefully.

"Are you kidding? It's been fantastic. Thanks to you and your parents," I practically exclaimed. "I love them so much for everything they've done for me, and I love--" I stopped before another word could escape my lips. His eyes widened at my words and my abrupt halt.

"What, sweetheart?" he whispered, leaning in closer to me. The breath I breathed in removed my remnant grogginess. My mind was clear and made up, but my words wouldn't come. My lips were frozen in place.

His face took on an understanding look. He kissed my forehead softly before leaning back and exiting the car, coming around to my side and opening the door. He held out his hand and helped me out of the car. All the while, I remained in surprised silence.

We walked into the house. All the while, Edward's hand remained on the small of my back, which felt right to me.

Esme and Carlisle were sitting in the living room, presumably waiting for us to make our entrance.

"Mom, Dad, I have to get going. I have an early day tomorrow at the hospital, I just wanted to wish you a good night."

They waved at him and said their goodbyes.

I turned back to Edward, who was watching me expectantly. I motioned toward the front door again, and he and I walked through it silently.

As I closed the door behind us, Edward spun and took hold of my waist, pulling me into a fierce hug. I rested my head on his shoulder, completely comfortable with our closeness, and breathed in his unique scent contentedly.

"I know what you were trying to say back there, in the car. I'll make it easier for you, Bella."

He knew? Did he feel the same?

He leaned back and gazed at me. The slight look of anxiousness was back. He looked me straight in the eyes, smiling suddenly.

"I'm in love with you," he said, enticing a gasp to come from me.

Somehow, I knew that was what he was planning on saying, but hearing those words form and come out of that perfect mouth made it all the more real to me. Someone as incredible and smart and gorgeous as Edward actually loved me, a broken woman with a fake name and a bad case of paranoia.

"I know it might be premature, but it's the truth. I have never felt this way before." He cupped my face and stroked my cheek slowly with his thumb. I sighed at the contact.

Finally, words came to my lips. "I'm in love with you, too, Edward." I saw his face relax exponentially, and a wondrous smile appear on it.

It was then that I experienced the most passionate and intense kiss of my life to date. Edward's lips came to mine, softly and chastely at first. Within moments after the kiss began, he began giving me open-mouthed kisses, and slowly I felt his confidence growing when I didn't push him away. His tongue gently ran over my lips, silently begging for entrance, which I allowed wholeheartedly. His right hand still cupped my face, and his left hand held my hips to him.

We were crushed together in such a tight embrace as we kissed. It felt magical. We were in love, we had admitted it to one another, and I was pretty sure that we were both feeling the side effects of this admission. I was beginning to get lightheaded from the lack of air, and from feeling something poke my stomach. I pulled away just enough to take a deep breath, while Edward's lips travelled down my cheek and to my neck, leaving kisses in their wake.

I let out an involuntary moan when I felt his lips on my neck; he had found my erogenous area inadvertently. I ran my hand through his hair in response. I heard him hum in pleasure, then pull back to get some air himself.

"God, we should confess our love for each other more often," he joked, panting quietly. "Was that alright? The kissing, I mean."

"Yeah," I laughed. "It was more than alright. I love kissing you," I confessed.

"You do realize that we just took some huge steps, right? I mean, I was inside your house earlier, we went out together in public, we just made out like teenagers, and we told each other how we felt. How do you feel about all that?"

I didn't miss a beat.

"Edward, I haven't even had to think about these things all day. I've been so comfortable with you and your parents that I haven't analyzed our actions or whether I'm alright with things. That tells me that everything that's happened today has happened as it should, in its own time.

"I knew I was falling for you for a few weeks ago. I haven't felt surer about anything since Boston. I love you. I know it."

The smile on his face was radiant. "I love you, too, Bella. I'm absolutely sure of it. I was worried you'd think it was too fast, especially considering your history," he said. "I want to help you forget all about Boston, love." He looked down at his watch and made a frustrated noise.

"I have to go, but we'll see each other tomorrow night after my shift. Around eight, if you're free?"

I grinned. "We'll all be here," I said, referring to Esme and Carlisle, too.

"Good."

He kissed me slowly again, but briefly. He pulled away and placed a kiss on my forehead.

"I love you, Bella. See you tomorrow night."

He released my face reluctantly and waved, stepping away from me. I watched him walking back to his house across the street, turning back at me every so often. He got to his front door, turned back and waved once more before disappearing inside his house.

What a day it had been. I had thought that it was one of the best birthdays to date, but I was sadly mistaken; it had been the best birthday ever.

* * *

A/N: The necklace Edward gives Bella looks like this:

http(:) / / www (.) heirloomjewellery (.) com / iab515%2018%20carat%20white%20gold%20pear%20shape%20diamond%20cluster%20pendant%20g%20si (.) htm

(remove the brackets!)


	14. Similarities

_**I'm not Stephenie Meyer. This story is written for entertainment, not profit...don't sue me. Pretty please?**_

_Thank you every single one of you for reading, and continuing to review this humble story. You guys have no idea what all your kind words do to me! (I'll give you a hint: it's GREAT!)_

_This chapter is dedicated to the reviewers who gave me the idea for this chapter. Seby and Dominosowner, this is for you!! I'm glad to see that people are intrigued with this story to ask questions like you guys did!! Thanks!!_

_As always, thanks to Meghan for beta'ing._

_Enjoy!_

_

* * *

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The day after Carlisle and Esme arrived I could barely concentrate while I was teaching my kids. My mind wandered over and over to the words Edward had uttered, and I knew I'd never forget: _I'm in love with you, Bella_. Just the thought of the look in his piercing green eyes as he said them made my heart pick up speed, and I was sure I blushed more than once as I was caught up in thinking about our heated kiss all while the kids were doing group work. After lunch, I caught myself daydreaming in the middle of a math lesson, and some of the kids noticed, because a few found errors in my answers when we were taking up the homework. I was embarrassed, but I knew this behaviour wasn't typical of me.

I was in love, after all. It was different than what I had first felt about James.

My relationship with James had always felt unbalanced; he was handsome, charming, and rich due to the inheritance that he received after his parents' murder, while I was plain, boring, and just barely making enough for tuition payments and room and board. While he never said it in words, I had always felt that I was beneath James and his notice, and bent over backwards to prove to him that I really was worth his attentions. Hindsight told me that that blew up in my face really quick, but I was a naive young girl in love--or perhaps infatuation--with a charming young boy.

Edward, on the other hand, made me feel like an equal, not someone upon whom he was taking pity. There was a sincerity and longing in Edward's eyes that told me he was feeling something different than what James had felt for me. In his eyes I read love, compassion, and a selflessness I had only ever seen in my father's eyes towards my mother--like he would willingly jump in front of a bus for me.

"Ms. Swan?" My student Patricia asked, pulling me out of my reverie. She stood in front of my desk, her mathematics notebook in hand, ready to ask a question about the work I assigned. I glanced around the room, observing silently as the rest of the class, with the exception of a few students who stood to get pencil crayons from the art centre at the back of the room, were working on either their math work or their art projects. I stole a quick glance at the clock before replying to Patricia. I gasped quietly. I had been daydreaming for nearly twenty minutes, and the school day was nearly over. I shook my head to snap myself out of my thoughts.

"Sorry, Patricia, did you have a question?"

She shook her head. "I'm done," she replied, handing me the notebook.

"Perfect," I said, smiling back at my student. I flipped the book open and skimmed through her answers. It looked like she had understood the lesson completely. "Thank you," I said. She smiled.

"Miss, are you ok?" Patricia asked, her eyebrows furrowing together. "You look distracted."

I laughed quietly, and then sighed. "That's because I am. But I promise it won't happen again."

"Oh, I don't mind," Patricia said, waving her little fourth grade hand at me. "You look happy." She grinned and walked back to her desk.

Well, it's pretty blatantly obvious then, isn't it? I couldn't help but giggle.

If my students were taking notice, Edward must be doing something right.

As I drove home after work, I found myself pushing my little Bunny to her limit, knowing that the faster I got home, the sooner I'd be with Carlisle, Esme, and Edward. I knew Edward wouldn't be done his shift just yet, but the wait would be more bearable in the presence of his parents.

I still couldn't believe that his parents were Esme and Carlisle. It was the biggest case of coincidence I had ever heard of. It made sense, after all, that such a warm and incredible man like Edward would have been raised by the two warmest and incredible people I had had the fortune of coming across in my life, but the odds of that were still astronomical.

I wasn't scared or upset by it anymore; it only added to Edward's appeal all the more, knowing the people who cared for and raised him were Esme and Carlisle. I'm sure, had I been told of their relation in a different way, I would have acted completely different. I was still utterly ashamed of the way I took the news, so I vowed that I would make it up to them somehow. All three of them had been incredibly welcoming and compassionate, not to mention self-sacrificing, and my temper tantrum just threw all of that in their faces. Being the selfless people they were, none of them looked like they wanted to accept my apology, but they did, probably just to please me. I'd just have to apologize a few more times until they truly knew how sorry I was.

Anyway, now that I knew that they were related, I saw little similarities between the three of them with startling clarity.

It was hard to tell whether or not Carlisle was truly Edward's biological father, though, since they shared mannerisms that would confuse anyone who thought otherwise. Whenever either of them were frustrated or stressed, they'd run a hand through their hair and tug ever so slightly.

Edward's most predominant features, on the other hand, bore striking similarities to his mother. His hair colour had more auburn in it than hers, but the texture was probably the same. I could only assume because I hadn't become familiar with the texture of Esme's hair, just Edward's when I ran my fingers through it. The shape of his eyes was all Esme, but not the colour.

Carlisle's eyes were blue. Perhaps Edward's green eyes were from a dormant gene...

"Hello? Carlisle? Esme?" I called as I entered the house, toting my purse, my lunch bag, and my canvas bag filled with school work to be corrected.

"In the kitchen, dear," Esme replied.

I had told them before I left for work that morning to make themselves at home, even going so far as to give Carlisle and Esme a copy of the key. As I walked into the house and took in a deep breath, I realized that they had done just that, because I was hit with an appetizing aroma similar to roast beef. I reached the kitchen and gasped. Esme had on a small apron and was stirring something in one of my larger pots, while Carlisle was setting my kitchen table. My roses from the day before were displayed beautifully in the centre of the table. They were nearly all in full bloom, and cascaded out the top of the vase elegantly.

"It smells unbelievable!" I exclaimed. "Do I detect a roast?"

Carlisle nodded. "Yes, one of my specialties."

"One of your _many_ specialties, dear," Esme corrected him. I walked over to inspect what she was stirring at the stove and saw a pot full of creamy mashed potatoes.

"Wow, what a meal."

Esme grinned. "Edward will be home after 8, so the roast should be done by that time." She stopped stirring and turned around to face me. "Carlisle has to run a few errands before dinner, so it'll give us a chance to chat. Have a little girl talk."

"Alright, that sounds good."

"And I was thinking that maybe over the weekend, we can spend some time with Alice and Emmett as a family," Carlisle suggested.

"Oh, that's fine. I have some marking to do over the weekend anyway--" I began to say, but Carlisle stopped me, smiling.

"That includes you, Bella."

"Yes, dear, you _are _family, too, you know. And it's not like you don't know everyone. You've met all of our children, and our daughter-in-law, Rosalie."

I laughed. "I have. Thank you for the invitation."

He waved. "Think nothing of it. We'll iron out the details later in the week. But for now, I have to get going. I shouldn't be more than a few hours." He put down the final piece of cutlery on the table and smiled up at us. He kissed Esme's cheek and waved good bye, walking out of the room.

Esme ran her hands under the tap briefly before wiping them on the apron around her waist. She untied it and laid it upon the kitchen counter. Looking at me, then pointing at the kettle on the stove, she asked, "I have water boiling for tea. Let's have some, shall we?"

I welcomed the chance to relax a bit, after a long day of work, so I fixed myself a cup of chai tea and joined Esme on the sofa in the living room. She sat with her legs under her, looking incredibly comfortable on my sofa and in my house, for which I was thankful. I would hate to have known that she or Carlisle had felt out of place here.

When I sat beside her, she shifted her body to face me, still holding her tea in her hand.

"Your day went well?" she asked before taking a sip of tea.

"Yeah, but my students caught me daydreaming more than once. That never happens."

"Oh? Everything alright?"

I must have blushed because Esme giggled and gave me a knowing look.

"Ah, I see. What did my son do?"

She was good!

"Last night," I began, wondering if I could really talk about my relationship with Edward with his mother. The thought occurred to me than that, up until 36 hours ago, I didn't know that Edward's mother was the same woman who travelled with me across the country to relocate me.

"Last night," I began again. "He told me he loved me." The words were like honey rolling off my tongue, sweet and easy to say. I had spent the entire day bouncing those words around in my head--_Edward loves me, he is in love with me. _Esme gasped and beamed.

"That's wonderful!" She put down her tea and wrapped her arms around my shoulders, pulling me toward her for a hug which I greedily accepted. I readily welcomed her maternal warmth. "And you love him." She didn't question it; she stated it more for clarification. I nodded emphatically.

"I'm so happy for you two," Esme said, pulling away and taking her tea up into her hand again. "The love of a good man helped me deal with my past. I hope it helps you, too, dear."

There it was; the elephant in the room.

From the moment I realized that Esme was Edward's mother, I had been so curious about her abusive past. But how was I to broach the subject? I was tense about asking for fear of inadvertently hurting Esme with my questions. I wasn't looking for specifics; I was more interested in finding more common ground between the two of us.

During the drive to New York, I got the feeling that Esme was a social worker or someone who dealt with traumatizing situations on a daily basis. Her compassion and empathy, I now knew, stemmed from her own experiences. Just how similar were our experiences?

I took a deep breath. "Esme," I began shakily. "Can I ask you about that? About your past? If it's too much--"

"That's what this talk was supposed to be about, Bella," Esme replied calmly. "I don't mind telling you anything you wish to know. I would actually like to tell you my story." She paused as she took another sip of her tea. "I think it's important for you to know our motivations behind helping you."

I nodded. "Sure. Whatever you're comfortable telling me."

Esme's kind eyes closed and she took a deep breath, releasing it slowly. When her eyes reopened, I knew she was ready to begin her story.

"Our parents were close friends. They always felt that we'd be perfect for one another. While they had a hand in the initial set up, it was our decision to date. My parents had always been highly protective of me and never let me date otherwise; I was an only child, you see."

"Like me," I murmured. She nodded.

"Yes. Greg was six years older than I was. I was infatuated with him. I even fooled myself into believing that we were in love. I'd like to think that we were for a time. He was always slightly controlling and jealous of other men looking at me, but I found it endearing. In my mind, it meant that he cared about me."

I nodded, knowing exactly what she meant by those words. James' jealousy was sweet at first, too. I misinterpreted it as affection and concern, rather than a need to control my every action to his liking.

"Well, once Greg and I began dating, I convinced myself that he was the best I could ask for. Both sets of parents supported our relationship, so we became serious pretty quickly.

"Everything was good until the day we found out that his mother had had been having an affair for six months. When the news broke, his entire family collapsed. His father filed for divorce, his brothers moved to Florida and refused contact with their mother, and Greg began drinking heavily.

"It was his trigger. He projected all of his anger and hatred towards his mother upon me, even when he was sober, and his controlling nature was exacerbated by the alcohol. He cut back his hours at his job, and used his free time to make sure I knew I was his. He'd pick me up and drop me off at my part-time job; he had ultimate veto power over my clothing choices, saying it was because he didn't want other guys to try anything with me. If I did happen to go somewhere without him, I had to check in with him every single time." The sad look in her eye struck my heart.

Esme breathed deeply. I thought she was on the verge of tears when she looked up at me, but she shook her head and smiled lightly, the hint of tears gone.

"My only real freedom in the year that we dated was that I went to college. He fought me tooth and nail on that, calling me all sorts of names when I told him I wanted to go to school, but my parents demanded that I attend, and he had to abide by their wishes."

"That's where you met Carlisle," I commented.

"Edward told you, then. Yes. Thankfully, Carlisle was finishing up at the University Of Washington School Of Medicine and he was on the UW campus visiting with one of his professors one day when he saw me crying on a park bench." She smiled to herself wistfully, as if remembering that day with perfect clarity.

"Things with Greg had gotten out of hand. The night before, he had picked me up from my parents' house and taken me to a secluded park, well known to the teenagers as a popular make-out place. We had been together for eight months then, but still hadn't been intimate, much to his chagrin." She looked down at her hands as she spoke, seemingly nervous about the topic. I put my hand on hers in her lap.

"Esme, you don't have to--"

"No, it's fine. It's been a while since I've talked about it. It's therapeutic to let it out sometimes."

I assented, nodding. She continued, now looking at an unknown spot upon the wall behind me.

"He reeked of cheap bourbon and cigarettes. His car stunk even worse. I knew that he brought me there to be alone with me, but I had no idea he wanted to take my virginity like that, without my consent. Up to that point, his abuse had only been verbal, so I wasn't completely terrified of him, and still harboured hope that our relationship was stronger than his drinking problems."

A tear trickled down Esme's mournful, yet still beautiful face.

"I held out for as long as possible before it happened," she continued, her voice getting quiet as she relayed the tale. "I kicked and screamed, but no one came to help me. There were other cars parked around us, but they probably thought my screams were of pleasure."

She exhaled shakily as she wiped a few tears away from her eyes.

Her story was really affecting her, and I hated it. I longed to wrap my arms around this woman sitting beside me who had so much strength, who encouraged me to be just as strong during my escape. But I knew she needed to retell her story, so I silently held her hand instead.

"By the end of the ordeal, I had a swelling left cheek, bruises on both arms where he held me down, and I was painfully sore. I couldn't face my parents that night. My cheek was red, and I told them I'd accidentally opened the car door too forcefully, smashing it against my cheek. It was slightly plausible, so they bought it.

"The next day, I was in class and I overheard some classmates talking about their first times, and it became too much for me. I flew out of the classroom and collapsed on a bench outside. I thought I was alone when I felt someone standing before me. Carlisle."

She smiled a watery smile then, remembering the moment no doubt. She sniffled, and suddenly her sadness was gone.

"I had never seen someone so breathtaking before, Bella. He had a handsome face and captivating, compassionate blue eyes. But he looked so concerned. He instantly asked me what was wrong. When I wouldn't tell him, he sat down, put his books beside us on the bench, and wouldn't leave until I told him my name at the very least," she chuckled lightly. "Carlisle was so stubborn. He introduced himself and told me that a woman as beautiful as I was shouldn't be crying. I knew it was a line, so I smiled as politely as possible and told him I couldn't be seen talking to him.

"I must have turned my head differently because he took my face in his hands gently and gasped. When his fingers touched my chin, I felt a strange sense of peace and safety I had never felt before. Maybe it was because he was destined to be my husband, or maybe it was because I was not used to being touched like a fragile china doll. Whatever the reason, I fell for him right there." Esme sighed, putting her tea cup on the coffee table and turning back to me.

"We talked for a few hours on that bench before I had to go home. We met again every day over coffee at the campus café, just getting to know each other. Within the first two coffee dates, he had convinced me to leave Greg and press charges against him. He didn't have ulterior motives though, Bella," she assured me. I hadn't even been thinking along those lines. I shook my head.

"I wouldn't have thought so, Esme."

She shrugged. "Just in case. He's a good man, Bella. He would never have taken advantage of me like that. I was in such a fragile state of mind after the rape."

"I know as well as you do that he's a good man. I have no doubt about that." She smiled and nodded in reply, then continued her story.

"We had quickly become friends, and while I thought he was gorgeous, I wasn't in the right place to be with anyone romantically just yet. He knew that, and supported me. He was just genuinely scared for my life.

"I told my parents about the night in Greg's car. Of course, they didn't believe that their friends' son could have done something like that, but when I showed them the bruises that had formed by then and reminded them about my swollen cheek, they were devastated. My mother cried for an hour, hugging me and apologising for not believing me and pushing Greg and me together. My father was silent, but I knew him well; his eyes were filled with silent anger and shame over being unable to protect his only daughter from Greg. Mother told me later on that he let his guilt consume him that night and they cried themselves to sleep. But I didn't blame either of them. For a time, I blamed myself. It wasn't until Carlisle made me go to counselling and help groups that I finally understood it wasn't my fault."

Esme's face showed her courage, her determination to not let her past beat her. Suddenly, she wasn't the fragile, broken woman telling the story only moments ago. Her back seemed to instantly straighten up, her chin lifted ever so slightly, and her eyes were filled with a fire I was used to seeing there.

"All four of us went to the police station the next day and pressed charges against him. The police seemed to believe me, but weren't optimistic about our chances to convict him without a confession. It was obviously incredibly difficult to make any charges stick because it was my word against his, but my bruises and swollen cheek added to my credibility. The police went to his house to talk to him. He resisted them and punched two officers in the face. He was intoxicated. They took him in for resisting arrest, and held him overnight, since they couldn't prove he'd done anything to me.

"Two days later, the police called and told me that he had confessed that he'd raped me. He was under suicide watch afterward. Psychiatrists who spoke to him said he was unstable because of his mother's infidelity and his family's desertion, and that I had been the outlet into which he poured all his aggressions."

"Carlisle was there every step of the way. At the police station, when the sentencing trial began, even the first few counselling appointments. He was a great friend to me in those days."

I had been silent this entire time, listening in awe at this heartbreaking story. I held her hand, lending my support to her in the only way I could. Another deep breath came from Esme.

"I was a month pregnant when Carlisle told me that he wanted to be with me. Neither of us knew at the time, but I consented to begin dating him. When I found out that I was having a baby, I was devastated. My parents were all for an abortion, but I had always wanted to be a mother, and I just couldn't do that, regardless of how he had come about. Carlisle stuck by my decision to keep the baby. He even offered to marry me when he found out, but there was no way I was going to take him up on his offer, just out of pity.

"We dated all through the pregnancy, and he was there, by my side, in the hospital room when Edward was born," she said, a contented sigh escaping her lips moments later. Her eyes dropped to the diamond necklace hanging around my neck--Edward's birthday present to me. "I was wearing it that day. The doctors told me to take it off, but I couldn't part with it. It brought me so much comfort."

I absent-mindedly touched the necklace and nodded, knowing exactly how she felt about it. I had been grazing the necklace with my fingertips all day, and comfort was the best way to describe the feeling it gave me.

"Me, too."

Esme cleared her throat and grinned happily. "Anyway, he told me he loved me the day we brought Edward home, and wanted to be the father to my son." She giggled softly, her hand covering her heart. "He proposed, and a few months later, we were married."

"What happened to Greg?" I asked.

"The last I heard of him, he was still in a rehab facility. His drinking continues to be an issue. As for Edward, Greg doesn't know he exists. We moved to Forks as soon as he was born. When the news broke about Greg in our neighbourhood, no one believed me, even when he confessed. Carlisle was right there, so of course, everyone suspected that I was already sleeping with him. Thankfully, there has never been an issue about his paternity." Her face suddenly grew worried. "I'm sure he suspects that Carlisle isn't his biological father, but--"

"He doesn't care, Esme," I reassured her. "He told me himself. He's proud of the father he has, and if it turned out any other way, he would still love you and Carlisle." I rubbed her shoulder gently. I felt her tension disappear through my fingers with each deep breath she took and released.

"I haven't told him any of this. None of my children know. At least, they don't know specifics. Only that I was in an abusive relationship. For a while, I denied that anything happened. I refused treatment, counselling, anything. Carlisle was my guardian angel."

I was instantly emotional at her sentiment. Tears filled my eyes, and fell quickly. "Mine, too," I sniffled, drawing unintentional attention to my tears.

"Oh, Bella," Esme murmured, pulling me toward her and wrapping her arms around me tightly.

"I don't want to think about where I'd be if you and Carlisle hadn't helped me escape," my voice broke and grew quieter with the tears that continued to flow unabated. "I'd probably be dead." At that, my cries became sobs. Esme just held me and soothed me in the maternal way I had missed all these months. She smoothed the hair that had fallen across my face away and rubbed my back softly.

"You don't have to think about that now. Not now, and not ever. He will _never_ find you," she said, stressing each word. "You don't have to live in fear anymore. We're all here for you." She hugged me to her again, and it effectively quieted my sobs some. I glanced up at Esme and saw tears in her eyes, too.

Just then, we heard the front door unlock and Carlisle and Edward rush into the living room.

"What happened?" Carlisle asked as Edward stepped forward and kneeled before me, placing a hand on my cheek. I hummed at his touch, the reason for my tears instantly forgotten.

"Why are you crying, love?" Edward asked worriedly, wiping a tear with his thumb. I couldn't help but smile a watery smile at him at hearing his pet name.

"Your mother and I were just talking. It's fine, really," I assured. Carlisle had a strong hand on his wife's shoulder, and watched both of us with concern.

I looked at the clock on the wall and was shocked by the time.

"Is it already past 8? Have we been talking for all that time?" I asked Esme, who grinned at me.

"I guess so. That would mean that dinner is ready, everyone." Esme rose from the sofa, wiping her eyes and straightening out her trousers before walking into the kitchen, out of view. Carlisle followed immediately behind her, no doubt to check on her. Edward took a seat beside me where Esme had been and grasped my hands in his.

"Are you sure you're alright, Bella? What were you two talking about that got you both so upset?"

I shook my head. "I'm better now that you're here," I smiled at him. "We were talking about the ways that she and I are similar."

He knew what I meant because his eyes grew compassionate and understanding. "Baby," he began, leaning closer to me. He squeezed my hands gently. "I wish I could have been there with you when you escaped him, like dad was for mom. Sometimes I think that I could have helped you more by being there--"

I had to cut him off. I put a finger to his lips. "You've already helped me more than you realise. Your friendship, and now your love, makes me feel strong." Edward smiled at my words and released my hands, opting instead to wrap his arms around my shoulders. I melted into his side, probably smiling like a fool as the warmth of his touch permeated my skin soothingly. He kissed my temple.

"You make me feel pretty strong, too," he chuckled lightly. "I love you, Bella. Never forget that."

I sighed and nodded silently into his arm.

"You sure you're alright?" Edward asked once more.

"Yeah. I am a bit hungry, though."

He hummed. "Me, too. Let's go check on dinner." Edward rose and helped me up with him.

As we sat together, like a real family, eating the delectable meal Esme and Carlisle had prepared, I couldn't help but be floored by their generosity once again. It wasn't everyday that relative strangers went out of their way, risking everything they had ever worked for to help someone in distress. Here they were, my three saviours, in total comfort in my home.

The thought that would have brought me to tears before, made me beam now. My emotions were completely out of whack.

"Bella?" Edward called to me, bringing me out of my thoughts. "What are you smiling at?"

"Oh, nothing. I'm just really happy," I paused, looking at all three of the Cullens at my kitchen table. "Really, really happy. Thanks to you three."

Carlisle chuckled softly while Esme smiled warmly at me. Edward released his fork and rested his hand over mine on the table. He patted it a few times before speaking. "I'm glad we make you happy, love. You deserve it."

I blushed at his words, returned his smile, and got back to eating.

A thought occurred to me: I had gotten my birthday wishes. Esme and Carlisle were staying for two weeks, and Edward and my relationship had grown by leaps and bounds in a matter of a few days.

I knew things would continue to be great in my life, so long as Edward, Carlisle, and Esme were a part of it.


	15. Family Ties

_**I'm not Stephenie Meyer. This story is written for entertainment, not profit...don't sue me. Pretty please?**_

_As always, thanks again to everyone who has read and reviewed, or just read! It's simply mind-blowing how many people are enjoying this story!! _

_On a completely unrelated side note, I wanted to express my outrage over the completely unjust treatment a few of my favourite stories have been served over the last few weeks on this website..._

_I was unaware that they had this sort of power, but some of these stories (Emancipation Proclamation by kharazzmatik, the Training, The Submissive by tara sue me, Wide Awake by angstgoddess, and other fantastic stories) have been completely removed from due to "TOS violations". And here, I thought that this was a forum where people could write what they wanted and choose to READ what they wanted like ADULTS... anyway, I'm clearly fuming over this! I'm not entirely worried that I may be on their hit list since my stories don't come close to the quality that those mentioned possess, but either way, because of this, I'm seriously considering discontinuing my usage of and only posting on Twilighted(.)net instead (I currently post there, anyway) as a form of protest. I want to assure you that if I end up removing my stories from here, I will be continuing on Twilighted. Just search for **Tima83**. _

_If you are as upset about this happening as I am, PLEASE sign this petition against this travesty!! _

_www(.)fanfiction(.)net(/)s(/)5734048(/)1(/)petition_

_As always, thanks to Meghan for beta'ing._

_

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We arrived at Emmett and Rosalie's house at 6:30 on Saturday, bearing a pumpkin pie, and two bottles of Yellow Tail Shiraz.

Edward looked casual yet sharp in his jeans and black Tommy Hilfiger zip polo shirt. I had decided to arrive wearing a pink blouse and a mid-length jean skirt with a new pair of knee high boots.

"Hey guys!" Emmett boomed, taking Esme into his arms for a tight hug.

"Oh, Emmett! I missed you," Esme exclaimed as she and her younger son embraced.

"Missed you too, Mom," Emmett replied, releasing her and pulling his dad in for a manly half-hug, half hand shake. Somehow, they didn't make it look awkward. Emmett then turned to me and picked me up into a bear hug, which completely took me by surprise. He chuckled.

"Hey, Bella. I'm glad you came! Mom and dad tell me that you guys know each other from Boston. What a coincidence, huh?" His good-natured question made me smile.

"Yeah, it was." I returned Emmett's hug, noting how comfortable I was with it. Being an only child, I had always wondered what it felt like to have a sibling, to be that comfortable around someone. _This_ must be what it felt like, and I loved it.

"Hey, big bro," Emmett said, turning his attention to Edward. They shook hands cordially, smiling. It was truly telling to watch Edward interact with his parents and his brother. It told me so much about the man he was; a family man, someone who loved his family and would do anything for them. It was such a joy to see them all together, without the drama of family life that I had had to deal with over the two years or so. No one was walking on eggshells to please anyone, and everyone was relaxed and being themselves. It was refreshing, actually.

"So, where's Rosalie?" Edward inquired, gazing around the foyer.

Emmett tilted his head to the large doorway to the right. "In the kitchen. Let's pop these bottles open!"

"Wait until your sister gets here, Em!" we heard Rosalie reprimand from the kitchen in a playful voice. Emmett frowned dramatically.

"Aww man, Alice is always late!"

Esme and Carlisle laughed. "That's because it never takes her less than an hour to get ready," Carlisle reasoned with a smirk.

"Yes. I see some things haven't changed much since we moved to Boston," Esme mused. Rosalie came around the corner just then, wiping her hands on a red and white striped dish towel. She beamed when she saw Esme and Carlisle, and hurried over to hug them both.

"Rosalie, how are you, dear?" Esme asked maternally, releasing her and getting a good look at her. "Is my son treating you right?" Rosalie laughed.

"He is. And I keep him in line when he isn't," she smirked, looking over at her husband.

Somehow, I believed her.

"Hey!" Emmett cried indignantly. "I resent that remark!" he joked.

Rosalie turned her attention to me then. The humour was almost instantly gone from her face. Edward must have noticed this, because his arm snaked around my waist in an effort to comfort me as I was being confronted by Rosalie.

"Hi, Edward. Bella," she said stoically, almost apathetically.

"Thanks for having us. Your home is lovely," I said, for lack of a better ice breaker. I was trying to be accommodating to her moods, considering that I personally had done nothing to her, yet she held some sort of resentment toward me. While I didn't really understand why, I decided to at least be gracious about it.

Rosalie nodded. It was obvious that her eyes focused on Edward's comforting arm around me. I couldn't tell if she was angry to see him so close to me.

"Thanks." She shut her eyes and sighed quietly. When she opened her eyes again, they were a lot friendlier than they had been before. "Look, we got off to a bad start, and that was my fault," she hesitated, "I tend to be suspicious of people trying to cozy up to my brother-in-law, here."

Ah.

Since Edward had told me why he hadn't mentioned his last name, I understood completely why Rosalie would have been suspicious. In all honesty, I probably would have been suspicious of a newcomer who happened to move across the street from the son of a wealthy doctor, too.

"I've been a part of this family for a few years now, and I'm protective of all of them, even Edward." Again, she sighed. "I'm sorry, Bella. It was wrong of me to be so rude to you at the barbeque. I shouldn't have assumed you were after the Cullen money."

Rosalie looked apologetic as she extended her hand to me. I took it without hesitation.

"I understand, Rosalie. Thank you," I said, relieved that the tension between us was on its way out. She and Edward both looked relieved, too.

"Well," Rosalie began with a cautious smile. "Let's get into the kitchen and wait for Alice and Jasper to arrive. They shouldn't be long now." She motioned to the kitchen. Edward guided me through the doorway, his hand gently touching the small of my back, where it felt like it belonged.

Emmett gave me an impromptu tour of the house--what he called the 'five-cent tour'--while Rosalie and Carlisle finished up lunch.

The house was slightly smaller in size than Edward's, but still charming and elegant inside. It was decorated similarly, but held a different personality than Edward's. It appeared more lived in, with magazines and books adorning the coffee tables, and mail stacked up shortly on the table in the front hall. The floors were covered with a neutral shade carpet that led all the way to the kitchen, where it ended and was replaced with dark grey and brown slate flooring. The kitchen countertops were covered with practical appliances and amenities; a toaster oven, a spice rack, a simple coffee maker, and a regular toaster. A family lived here, not a bachelor.

The three extra bedrooms upstairs were all tastefully and simply decorated, awaiting any houseguests they might have. Each had wide windows and double beds. Two of the rooms even had small televisions set up.

The basement was Emmett's pride and joy. It was spacious enough to comfortably house a billiards table, a dart board, and a 50" Sony television and surround sound set up. There were autographed movie posters in beautiful ebony frames, hung equidistant from one another along the wall. V for Vendetta, the Departed, Goodfellas, 12 Monkeys, and Twilight (definitely Rosalie's selection) were just some of the favourites that adorned the walls. Emmett had a thing for movies, and it showed in his basement decor.

As Emmett and I were walking back up the stairs from viewing the basement, the door bell rang three times in succession, just like Edward tended to do. Esme was the first at the door, and was attacked by a small, squealing, dark-haired girl the moment the door was opened.

"Mom!" Alice cried happily, bursting with energy even as she hugged Esme. She and Esme rocked back and forth excitedly as they exchanged murmured words. "Missed you, Mom," Alice said, kissing Esme's cheek quickly.

"I missed you too, sweetie," Esme gushed. "It's been far too long!"

Alice looked back through the doorway and waved at someone to come in. A tall, blonde man with sharp features and kind eyes took a few tentative steps in the house and smiled when his eyes met Esme's.

"This must be Jasper," Esme commented, shaking his hand. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you." Jasper's posture seemed to relax.

"The pleasure is all mine, ma'am," he replied with a slight southern twang to his voice.

"Oh, call me Esme, dear," she corrected gently.

Suddenly I was attacked by the same phenomenon that attacked Esme. Alice hugged me so fiercely.

"Bella! I still can't believe our luck! It's unreal that you and my parents were friends before you moved here! And now you and Edward! It's all so unbelievable!" She rambled, still hugging me tightly. I couldn't help but smile at her enthusiasm. The others must have heard the commotion, because they rushed into the foyer. Edward chuckled.

"Easy there, sis. I'd like to keep Bella in one piece, if you don't mind," he mused, poking Alice in the shoulder. She released me and latched onto Edward briefly.

"You know I missed you, too!"

"What am I, chopped liver?" Emmett asked, half-heartedly looking hurt.

Alice giggled and hurried into her big brother's arms.

"Wow, she's got energy to burn," I commented quietly to Edward with a smirk.

"You got that right, love," he agreed, extending his hand to Jasper, who had been watching the scene with a big smile.

"Hey, man. Nice to see you again," Edward greeted, then turned to me. "This is my girlfriend, Bella." I had never heard him refer to me as his girlfriend, and I loved the way that sounded coming out of his mouth. Another hand shake was exchanged with plenty of smiles.

"Alice actually told me about you when you dropped into the store a few months back. I'm glad we had the chance to meet. She had a feeling that you guys would be really close friends," he added. "I can see that she'll probably be right...yet again." We chuckled.

"Guys! Lunch is ready!" Carlisle called to us. Alice immediately bounded into the kitchen. We heard her squeal, so we assumed that she ran into Carlisle.

Lunch was great. Carlisle helped Rosalie bring out all the dishes, which consisted of roasted potatoes and prime rib, apparently a specialty in Rosalie's family. They brought out coleslaw and garden salad to accompany the meal. The aroma of the potatoes as Rosalie pulled them out of the oven filled the dining room, and was enough to make me salivate like a dog. I wasn't the only one, though; Edward whispered to me that Rosalie's cooking was so satisfying that he knew he wouldn't be eating anything else all day.

Needless to say, by the time our plates were cleared, all eight of us were stuffed, and I was pretty sure that would be my only meal of the day, too.

"So, Bella," Alice said in a sing-song voice. "Jazz and I got you a birthday present."

"What? No, Alice!" I began, but she raised her hand and sent me a determined look.

"Trust me, Bella. It's more a present for Edward than it is for you, though I'm sure you'll appreciate it, too," she said, reaching under her seat and pulling out a reusable red, white, and black Lu Lu Lemon shopping bag. She handed it to me with a grin. I opened it and found two pairs of black yoga pants.

"Size six, right?" Alice inquired, though I'm sure she already knew the answer for sure. Esme giggled conspiratorially. I nodded and inspected one pair of pants closer. It was low-rise, with white script writing all the way around the waist band. There was more than one sentence there, but the one that stuck out was 'friends are more important than money'. The fabric was soft against my fingers, and I just knew that they'd be incredibly comfortable to wear around the house.

"Thank you, Alice," I murmured. "They're awesome. But how are these pants a present for Edward, too?"

Alice, Esme, and Rosalie chuckled together. The men at the table had smirks upon their faces.

"You obviously haven't had a pair of Lulus before. You'll know when you put 'em on," Rosalie answered with a wink. A bout of soft laughter filled the dining room.

Ah. The fit must be pretty good.

I looked over at Edward, who was nodding minutely.

"Come to think of it," Alice began, tapping her chin. "Maybe after we've all had our desert, you can try them on. I want to make sure they fit before I toss the receipt."

"Ok," I obliged, feeling Edward's hand creep slowly to my shoulder. He leaned in as close to my ear as possible, making me shudder in anticipation.

"I can't wait to see those on you, love," he whispered before kissing my temple.

We served the pumpkin pie, and Emmett had made a tiramisu from scratch, so everyone tested it. It actually tasted better than it looked, so I somehow found space in my full stomach to have seconds. The men excused themselves and descended into the basement to watch a DVD while we ladies got comfortable in the family room, discussing Alice's living arrangement with Jasper, who seemed like a wonderful guy. He was a bit quiet and reserved, but he seemed to compliment Alice wonderfully.

Where she was excited and bouncing, Jasper was demure and calm. He seemed to simmer Alice down considerably, too.

"Try on the Lulus, Bella!" Alice begged, handing me the bag once more. I conceded with a smile and talked into the closest bathroom to try on the pants.

When I stepped out wearing the first pair, I was greeted by the three Cullen women, waiting patiently, with their respective beverages in their hands.

Rosalie motioned for me to step forward so that they could get a better look at the form-fitting pants on me. I obliged and turned around slowly with my hands in the air.

"Well?" I asked. "How do they look?"

Alice wore a smug look. "I knew that style would look great on her. Didn't I tell you, Rosalie?"

Rosalie and Esme were both nodding and smiling. "Yeah, I know. Never bet against Alice," Rosalie smirked, rolling her eyes. "But yeah, she's right. Those look awesome on you, Bella. Aren't they comfy?"

I nodded. "So much so that I'm thinking of keeping them on. They go well with my shirt, actually!" The ladies around me laughed. Esme moved forward and put a motherly arm around me, still holding her tea in her other hand.

"Let's take a seat over here. I'd like to spend some time will all of my daughters," she said meaningfully, winking and rubbing my shoulder gently.

I knew my eyes grew wide at her comment. She had included me as one of her daughters, and that made my heart swell with delight. To know that she could feel about me the way she felt about a daughter was something I could have never hoped for, but it was a wonderful feeling. That moment was filled with the wonderful possibilities of the future--I could someday count myself among the real Cullens--but I shook my head and scolded myself internally. What was I thinking? Edward and I had only just begun our relationship, and I knew fairytale endings were few and far between for people like me. Besides, I continued my inner monologue, I didn't even know that I wanted to be married again, anyway, after all the shit James put me through...

"Bella, dear, are you alright? You just got this far away look. Where did you go?" Esme asked, scrutinizing my face.

"Oh, just thinking that I am honoured that you consider me one of your daughters, Esme," I said honestly, grinning and putting my arm around her waist. She hummed happily and patted my shoulder, leading me to the couch where Alice and Rosalie were already seated.

We talked for a little while. We learned that Rosalie and Emmett had recently begun trying to conceive, which pleased Esme to hear it, I'm sure. Her smile grew tenfold when Rosalie conveyed the news. Alice, on the other hand, was thinking of opening another store in the near future with Jasper's help in Port Angeles, since she thought the scrapbooking stores there were severely lacking the character that _Scraps _possessed. We all agreed it was a good idea, but it would be a lot more work than having her one store, since Port Angeles wasn't just around the corner; they'd have to hire staff, oversee the project, buy or lease the property, and so on.

It sounded like it had the potential to be overwhelming, but Alice just grinned and waved it off like it was nothing. She had a confidence I never knew someone so young could possess. I had to keep reminding myself that Alice was only twenty years old.

"What about you, Bella? How's teaching coming along?" It was Alice who asked. Rosalie's eyebrows rose.

"You're a teacher?" she smiled. "Wait, you mentioned that at the BBQ. Sorry," Rosalie apologised lightly, her smile genuine.

I waved off her apology. "That's ok, Rosalie. And it's great, Alice. Grade four has always been my favourite grade to teach."

Alice, Rosalie, and Esme appeared slightly confused by my statement. I giggled. "Sorry, we say _grade four_ instead of _fourth grade_ back home in Toronto."

"You're Canadian?" Alice questioned.

"Yup, born and raised in Toronto."

"So, how did you end up in Boston?" Rosalie asked. I would have already been uneasy about the line of questioning about a month ago, but the way in which Alice and Rosalie asked their questions put me at ease; they were genuinely interested, and you could see it in their eyes. There was kindness and friendliness there, not accusations or negativity.

"I went to UMass to get my teaching degree, and then I met, uh...a guy."

Despite feeling more at ease with them than before, I still felt my pulse begin to race at the memory of why I stayed in Boston. How would I skim this subject without drawing attention to my lie? Esme caught on to my feeling, because she put a comforting hand on mine and gave me a confident stare. I took a deep breath, preparing myself. Alice and Rosalie noticed Esme's maternal touch, and I saw them exchange confounded looks at it.

I cleared my throat before saying, "So, we met, we got married, he was an abusive, controlling asshole, and I left." That was the whole truth, smoothed over, of course.

Alice gasped, while Rosalie shook her head slowly, muttering "oh, God".

There was silence for a few moments. I assumed that Alice and Rosalie were processing what I had just said. At length, Alice spoke.

"No wonder you and mom are such good friends, then," she said in a knowing tone. Esme nodded.

"We have a lot in common, Alice," she confirmed.

"I can't believe you went through something like that," Alice stated, looking like someone had just died. The somber mood in the room had become all-consuming. Each woman sitting in this room wore similar expressions. This was too much.

"Guys, guys, stop looking so gloomy," I said, smiling lightly. "No one died, and I'm fine now." Alice and Rosalie returned my smile hesitantly. I nodded, as if to tell them that it was ok to laugh and smile around me. "I had a great couple of friends to help get me out of the situation," I looked pointedly at Esme, "and things are awesome here for me. Really."

Rosalie let out a breath and nodded. "That's great."

"Really great," Alice added with a nod. They both looked a little relieved.

Just then, we heard footsteps coming up the stairs from the basement. As the footfalls approached, I saw Alice's hesitant smile grow wider. I turned and saw Edward coming towards us with his hands in his pockets, looking casual but still incredibly handsome. He came up behind Esme and me and placed his smooth hands on the tops of my shoulders, using his thumbs to make small circles upon them. I leaned back into his hands slightly.

"Ladies, want to watch a DVD with us on the 50"?" he asked the rest of the room. He leaned over to my ear and whispered, "I'd really like to spend the rest of the evening with you in my arms, love," then kissed my temple.

The women nodded, murmured their agreement, and got up off the sofas. I rose and Edward and I followed them out of the family room towards the stairs, hand in hand. I was about to descend when Edward tugged on my hand gently. I turned to look at him, and saw a mischievous smirk on his face. Before I could ask what he was thinking, he pulled me toward him and enveloped me in his arms. His lips grazed my ear and I could feel his breath on my neck, which sent shivers through my entire body.

"I don't know whether I should thank Alice and Jasper or be furious with them for getting you those pants," he murmured half-heartedly. I felt a hint of lust in his tone, which intensified the shivers already coursing through my body. "I think I'll be thankful." He pressed his lips gently against the crook of my neck and kissed the skin there once.

"Good, because I love them," I said, turning to face him. "And I love you," I concluded, batting my eyelashes at him in a flirty way that was somehow comfortable to me now. I didn't know where this person I had become came from, but I enjoyed her boldness.

Apparently, so did Edward, because his grip on my hips tightened, and a wry smile surfaced. He leaned his face to mine, and placed a small kiss upon my nose.

"I'm glad for that. Because I love you, too, sweetheart." His eyes glimmered with the same contentment that mirrored mine. "You've grown out of your shell so much over the last week. You have no idea how happy it makes me to see you with my family, laughing and enjoying yourself." He kissed my forehead before leaning further still to kiss my lips sweetly.

"They're so welcoming that I couldn't resist!" I laughed. Edward wrapped his arms around my waist and hugged me to him, rocking us back and forth. "Let's get down there before they send the search party up for us," he chuckled. "And by 'search party', I mean Alice." I nodded and pulled him by the hand down the stairs.

The other couples were settled into the lush leather sofas surrounding the TV when we arrived.

"Finally! Let's get this show on the road!" Emmett laughed, waving his hand with the remote control firmly in one of them. He aimed it at the TV and got the DVD started as soon as we picked a seat.

In all honesty, I tuned the movie out completely because Edward's arm was wound comfortably and unwaveringly around my shoulders while the other arm toyed with a few loose strands of my hair, and I was deliciously distracted by his touch. The warmth of his hand spread like wildfire through my body, and I knew that, should he move his hand from its spot, I would miss it terribly. The peace and serenity that came with his presence was unmistakable. What was also unmistakeable was that I was growing incredibly attached to Edward's touches, his kisses, and his being in my life--and I was absolutely and perfectly happy with that.

As the movie progressed, I caught little bits of the plot, and heard the others laughing heartily during certain scenes of comedy. I vaguely recognized the main actor, but my mind was racing too quickly with thoughts of Edward for me to actually laugh at the jokes. Every so often, Edward would grip my hand in his and lift it to his mouth, placing a sweet little kiss on the back of it, then continue rubbing it with the pad of his thumb.

Soon, my eyes began to droop in the comfort of it all, and I rested my head against Edward's shoulder. He kissed my temple a few times, and I drifted off to a light sleep. All the while, I was still coherent enough to hear the TV and the intermittent laughter of the family. I even heard Edward quietly whispering to Carlisle beside him, telling him that I had fallen asleep.

"She trusts you, son," Carlisle commented quietly. "Otherwise, she wouldn't have passed out like that." I heard the smile in Carlisle's voice, even whispered as it was.

"I'm glad, dad," was Edward's response to his father. "I love her."

"I know you do." There was pride in Carlisle's quiet voice. I felt Edward's lips again at my temple, and then I actually did pass out.

"Man! What a great movie!" Emmett exclaimed as the credits began to roll on the large screen. His exclamation had jolted me awake. I was still securely wrapped up in Edward's arms, but the booming voice scared me suddenly.

"Hey, you," Edward said quietly to me. "You slept through the last half of the movie. It was pretty good, I'm told," he smirked, helping me up from my seat. Everyone else was slowly vacating the area, too.

Alice was stretching and laughing with her father while Jasper, Emmett, and Rosalie were already walking up the stairs, talking about the movie animatedly. Esme was tidying up the sitting area, watching Edward and I out of the corner of her eye with a smile.

"You might want to get home. Bella looks tired, son," Esme commented, glancing up at me. "Carlisle and I will be along shortly."

Edward looked at me and nodded, taking my hand in his. "Good idea, Mom. What do you think, Bella?" As if to accentuate their point, the urge to yawn overtook me just then, and I didn't fight it at all. Esme and Edward both laughed lightly at the timing.

"Yeah, I guess I'm sleepier than I thought. Let's go."

"Ok, let's say good night to everyone then."

Saying goodnight was yet another reminder of how tightly knit this family really was. Alice and Jasper were preparing to head out, too, and they were saying their goodbyes as we walked up the stairs. Alice caught my eye and headed toward me with her arms outstretched. She hugged me and said, "don't be a stranger, Bella. Come by the store whenever you want. Maybe we can even go on a double date! Jasper is always saying we need to get out more!" She glanced back at Edward, who was smiling at his little sister.

"That sounds good, Alice," I laughed. "Give me a call sometime this week to set something up."

I shook Jasper's hand as Edward was hugging Alice. "It was good to meet you, Bella," he drawled. "I guess we'll be seeing a lot of each other from now on."

"Guess so."

He chuckled. "Good thing, then."

Emmett was next to say good bye to us. "Eddie, you better take care of this girl, or I'll send the entire Forks sheriff's department after you!" He gripped my shoulder gently and pulled me into a half-hug.

Edward looked slightly annoyed, but it passed almost instantly. "One, don't call me Eddie, and two; you don't have to tell me twice about taking care of Bella."

"He's doing a pretty good job of that already, Emmett," I interposed, making Emmett and Edward to smile wider.

He patted my back. "That's what I like to hear. Thanks for coming, and, like Alice said, don't be a stranger. We're neighbours, after all!"

"We won't, Em," Edward replied with a smile and a wave.

Rosalie was next, and she surprised me when she swept me into a hug. "Thank you for coming over. I hope you had a good time. Feel free to come by anytime you want. We're usually home after 4," she rambled.

"Uh, ok, that's..." I was unsure how to answer. Thankfully, Edward stepped in.

"Rose, we'll call you two for dinner sometime next week," he said, sounding just as confused with Rosalie's hug as I felt.

"Great," Rosalie concluded, releasing me from her hug and smiling happily at me.

Edward and I waved at everyone and exited the house, walking hand in hand toward my house.

"So, that was...interesting, to say the least," he began. "What was Rosalie's deal?"

"I don't know. I kind of told her and Alice about my past relationship," I paused, noting Edward's shock. "Don't worry, I said nothing besides the fact that I left an abusive marriage," I soothed, calming his worry instantly. "I guess she feels sorry for me now."

"No, baby, there was nothing but admiration in her glances at you just now," Edward said, shaking his head. "She was definitely not feeling pity for you at all. I've only ever seen her act like that around one person, and that's Esme."

"Hmmm," was my only reply as we continued walking in silence for a few more moments.

"My family loves you," Edward finally said at length, a happy sigh in his voice.

"And I love them, too," I replied, squeezing Edward's hand gently.

I took a breath. "And by the way," I continued, "Carlisle was right; I do trust you. With my life."

Edward looked surprised that I had heard them. I nodded, as if I were answering his unspoken question.

"Yup, I heard you guys during the movie." He shot me a wry grin.

"Sneaky, sneaky, Bella. You had us all fooled with your pretend sleeping," he mused. I playfully smacked his shoulder.

"I _was_ sleeping, just lightly. I heard bits and pieces of your conversation, but that part made me the happiest."

"Why?"

"Because you told Carlisle you loved me," I said bashfully. At that, Edward stopped walking and pulled me toward him, draping his arms around me. He squared his shoulders and his beautiful green eyes seemed to bore into my brown ones.

"It's the truth."

"I know, but to hear you admitting it to someone else," I paused, finding the right words. "It makes it real, like you weren't just saying it for my benefit. You really do."

He cupped my cheek and stroked it with his fingers slowly. "I really, really do, Bella." He leaned down and kissed my forehead, then took my hand again and we began walking toward my house. We were only a few minutes away now.

We walked hand in hand up my front porch until I dug into my pocket for my key. I turned back to look at Edward. I realised at that moment that I was terribly sad that the night was ending, though I was tired. What I wouldn't have given to have him stay with me, to just have had him sleep beside me. If he gave me comfort when he touched me during my waking hours, I imagined how he could soothe my nightmares and calm my subconscious by just being in the same bed.

Instantly, a thought occurred to me.

"Hey, I think I'm ready for that winery tour," I relayed quietly. His eyes grew wide.

"Yeah?" he questioned softly, brushing my cheek with the back of his hand lovingly. "I told you, I'm in no rush to--"

I silenced him effectively by covering his mouth with mine in an increasingly passionate kiss. My hands snaked up around his neck and buried themselves in his soft hair. I felt his hands respond and move from my cheek to the nape of my neck as he deepened the kiss. His body crushed mine against the door and I must have let out a moan of delight at his proximity, because it startled him and he suddenly tensed up. I opened my eyes and found him watching me urgently. I smiled at him, silently begging him to continue the kiss, silently telling him it was ok, that I loved every minute of our closeness. He must have believed me, because his lips were suddenly once again on mine, drinking me in greedily.

After a few moments, we both had to pull away to compose ourselves before Esme and Carlisle returned, and to breathe. Still leaning against the front door, I pulled him toward me to rest his forehead against mine.

"Wow," he whispered, shutting his eyes tightly.

"Yeah," I said with a smile.

"So, you sure about the winery tour?" he asked as he opened his eyes and watched me reply.

"Absolutely. I can't wait."


	16. Goodbyes

**_I'm not Stephenie Meyer. This story is written for entertainment, not profit...don't sue me. Pretty please?_**

Sorry about the delay, everyone! RL got in the way, as always...however, I bring good news! The next chapter is half way done!!

Thanks, as always, to everyone who reviewed and continues to do so! It completely warms my heart to read each and every review!

(And thanks to Meghan for beta'ing!)

On with it!

* * *

The last week that Esme and Carlisle stayed with me flew by. Their flight out of Seattle was scheduled for Saturday, so they insisted that they take the entire family out to dinner on the Friday evening. We had a great time, as usual, and they promised each and every person at the dinner table that evening that they would return for another visit very soon.

That Saturday morning, I awoke feeling gloomy. I knew that Carlisle and Esme had their lives to return to, but coming to the realization that the last two weeks - which had been the best two weeks of my life so far - were over, made me incredibly depressed.

That is, until I saw Esme's smiling face as I walked down the hallway, past their room.

"Good morning, Esme," I called to her. I took a quick glance around the room and smiled. Both of their large suitcases were on the bed, wide open, with neatly-stacked piles of clothing already beginning to fill each. Under it, their bed was already made. It looked like the two of them had been up for over an hour, since their toiletries, which typically adorned the dresser in the room, were nowhere to be seen; they had already showered, dressed, and packed them up.

Esme was the only one I saw in the room. She was busy folding a shirt when she looked up and beamed.

"Good morning, Bella."

"Did you get an early start today?" I asked, motioning to the suitcases on the bed.

"Yes, we had to organize. Besides, we wanted to spend our last few hours with you and Edward, instead of packing."

I smiled at her thoughtfulness. "I'd better get started on breakfast, then."

"Actually, dear, Carlisle has already started. He's down there, now."

That was fine by me, since Carlisle's cooking was better than mine most of the time. I caught a fragrant waft from the direction of the kitchen and realized that it _did _smell like fresh coffee. I must have missed it because I was still half asleep. Once the robust smell of coffee filled my nostrils, though, I became fully awake.

"I hope you don't mind, but Carlisle's been realizing his culinary potential for the last two weeks, and he wanted a bit more practice here before we left," Esme chuckled, placing her folded shirt in the suitcase and gazing back at me. "He doesn't really get a chance at home, since I'm the resident cook."

"Oh, I don't mind at all!" I laughed. "Are you kidding? Before I knew you were Edward's mom, I was in love with your cooking anyway. You've taught Edward extremely well, and I'm sure Carlisle's picked up a few tips from you, too!"

"I'll bet Edward feeds you well, dear."

"He does. It appears he's learned many great things from you guys, and I'm so thankful for that," I said, feeling the emotion bubble beneath the surface of my words. Esme, being the mother that she was, sensed it and pulled me into a hug.

"Trust me, Bella. We are just as thankful as you are. At first, when we practically sent you here all alone to fend for yourself, we worried constantly about you, but seeing you with Edward gives us comfort. And I'm not saying that just because he's our son," she joked, helping to lift the sadness I had been feeling only minutes before walking into the room. She pulled back to look at me, no doubt making sure I was alright. When she saw no signs of tears, she exhaled.

"Now, go grab your coffee. I should be down in a few minutes."

I nodded, squeezed Esme's hand briefly and went downstairs to the kitchen, where the smell of bacon now pervaded my nose. I smiled just at the smell; bacon was my weakness, especially if it was crispy bacon...

As I entered the kitchen, Carlisle was facing the stove, stirring something that I couldn't see. The crackling of the pan was a low hum in the background, and whatever food he was cooking there smelled delicious. On the other side, a pan of nearly ready bacon was sizzling away on low heat.

He heard me enter the kitchen and turned slightly, still mostly facing the stove.

"Bella! Good morning!" he grinned, moving whatever was in the pan around slowly. I came up beside him to see what it was and gasped.

"Good Morning to you! Is that French toast I see?" I wiggled my eyebrows for proper effect.

"Mmhmm. I had a craving for some French toast today," he smiled. "Well, that, and I wanted spoil you a little before we leave."

"You didn't have to, you know," I began, opening the cupboard and grabbing three mugs and bringing them to the kitchen table. "Although, you won't hear me complaining!" I returned to the cupboard and took out three plates and set the table.

Carlisle finished the French toast and began cracking eggs into a bowl beside him. Wordlessly, I took the finished pieces of French toast, put them on another plate, and brought the plate to the table.

"So, I've been meaning to speak to you," Carlisle said, breaking the amicable silence as we set breakfast up together. "How are you? I mean, how are you _really?_" He asked, turning fully toward me. I was taken aback by his question.

"I'm fine, Carlisle," I replied, my somewhat vast vocabulary escaping me at the moment. "Things have been really good. Really," I continued, emphasising the _really_.

"I'm sorry, but I'm asking as a doctor now, dear," Carlisle said, the scrambled eggs cooking beneath the spatula in his hand forgotten, and his attention on me. "Have you had any anxiety since moving? Any episodes of paranoia? How have you been coping with all the changes in your life these last few months?" His voice was gentle and professional. No doubt, he used this tone of voice at the hospital, too.

"Anxiety? Absolutely, but it hasn't been unreasonable, I don't think. Paranoia? Definitely, but it's been less frequent over the last few months."

"And do you have nightmares at all? It's completely normal to experience these sorts of things after the trauma you went through, both physically and mentally," he reassured, putting a hand on my arm comfortingly.

I had to think about that for a moment. It was true that I had had nightmares of James' torment, but none very recently. My lips turned up into a slight smile when I realized that. "Not for a while, actually."

Carlisle looked relieved. "I'm so happy to hear that, Bella. You may still want to look into counselling, but it sounds like you're handling it fairly well, all things considered."

"You can thank your son for that, Carlisle," I answered. My hand flew to my neck, where Edward's necklace rested upon my collarbone. Carlisle's eyes flickered to the pendant, too, and he nodded. He looked down at the pan and turned off the stove at that moment. He put the eggs on a plate and brought the plate to the table before walking to the coffee maker and pouring himself a coffee. He sighed seemingly absentmindedly.

"The power of love can sometimes be underestimated, but you and I both know how potent it can really be," he said thoughtfully as he stirred his coffee. "In your case, it's such a strong force that it has helped you begin to heal. Now," Carlisle continued, looking almost bashful, "I'm not suggesting that you needed a man to help you deal with everything, or that you had to get back into a relationship to forget your marriage at all," he said hurriedly, probably because he thought I was offended. I held up my hand to stop his rant.

"Carlisle, I know that I didn't absolutely need to have another man in my life in order to...you know...get over things. It just sort of happened that way. I'm sure had it been anyone else, with no experience with my situation, I wouldn't have allowed him to get close to me because he wouldn't have known when to push and when to back off, like Edward does. He's been exactly what I needed; a very good friend. Even when I wasn't being entirely honest with him, he still allowed me to be myself. Now, things are," I paused, running through the last few weeks in my mind at a rapid pace. "Now, things are amazing. I cannot remember being this happy." My cheeks hurt from the smile that appeared on my face at the thought of Edward. Carlisle chuckled and sipped his coffee.

"I can see that. In both of you. I have not seen Edward so relaxed in ages. You're good for him, Bella."

"Thank you," I murmured after taking a sip of my own coffee. I looked up at the clock hanging on the wall. "Speaking of Edward, he should be getting off his shift in an hour. You'll still be here, right? He told me he switched his shift so that he could say goodbye to you and Esme."

"Of course. We have another two and a half hours before we absolutely have to be on the road to Seattle."

Just then, Esme walked into the kitchen and kissed her husband on the forehead. "Smells wonderful down here! Remind me to let you make breakfast for us when we get home!"

Carlisle wiggled his eyebrows suggestively and smirked. "Breakfast in bed, perhaps, love." She giggled and lightly smacked his shoulder in response. I couldn't help but giggle at their display of affection.

Maybe I was seeing how Edward and I could be after a few years of married bliss...

I shook my head of those thoughts and saw Esme seated beside Carlisle at the table, beginning to serve herself her breakfast. After she placed the food on her plate and set it down, she pulled something small and black from her sweater pocket and held it up for Carlisle and me. "I have completely neglected this thing! I forgot I even packed it until I was organizing our suitcases!"

Carlisle shook his head and slapped his forehead in mock weariness. "Oh no, God have mercy upon us all!"

For the next hour afterward, we ate breakfast happily, never once mentioning the impending drive Esme and Carlisle had to make to Seattle. We were content in our little bubble, enjoying our last breakfast together for an undetermined amount of time. Every so often, Esme would take a picture of me eating, or Carlisle drinking coffee. A few times, when I was clearing the table, she made me pause as I passed Carlisle and would take a picture of the two of us together. Carlisle took the camera from her once and took one of Esme and me together.

Edward arrived right on time, after stopping off at home to shower and change.

I answered the door when he knocked, in his quick three-knock way, and pulled him toward me for a hug when I saw him. His arms encircled me and grasped me close to him.

"Missed you," he murmured in my ear.

"Me, too," I replied. "I'm not looking forward to seeing them leave," I added quietly. He took my hand in his and smiled sadly at me. "Neither am I."

"Brace yourself, though," I chuckled. "Esme has been taking pictures left, right, and centre."

"I was wondering when she'd get the camera out," he laughed. "Let's go."

I pulled him toward the kitchen, where we had saved a bit of French toast and some scrambled eggs for him. He ate quickly while we continued to ignore the fact that Esme and Carlisle were only an hour or so away from leaving. Every so often, a flash would go off and Edward would look up and scowl at his mom playfully. I wasn't forgotten, and she would take a few here and there of me while I wasn't watching.

"Candid shots," Esme would reason with a sly smile.

There were even a few shots of Edward and me, for which I happily posed. Esme took a few of us making goofy faces, and a few nice pictures of us smiling at each other. One in particular was my favourite: Edward had caught me as I tripped over my own feet and pulled me into his lap. We gazed at each other sweetly before we saw the flash snap around us.

Finally, the time came for Carlisle to begin loading their rented Mini and prepare for the drive to Seattle with Esme. Carlisle wheeled the suitcases out and loaded while Esme made sure they left nothing behind. Once she was satisfied that everything had been packed up, she came outside and sat alongside me on the two-seater and draped her arm over my shoulder. Carlisle and Edward were chatting at the foot of the driveway after the car was loaded up. They were too far away for us to be able to make out what they were saying, but it was easy to see that they were talking about good things, since the smiles on their faces were contagious. Carlisle even put a hand on Edward's shoulder, and Edward nodded, making it look like Carlisle was imparting some fatherly wisdom to his son. I smiled at the thought.

"Thank you for everything, Bella," Esme said, her eyes never leaving Carlisle and Edward as they talked. "This has been a wonderful vacation."

"It's the least I could do after everything you and Carlisle have done for me."

"The best payback you can offer us is to be happy, dear. I wasn't lying when I told you that I think of you like a daughter. I worry about you like I do Alice or Rosalie. When you're a parent, your children's' happiness is your happiness. That's all I wish for you. Lord knows that you deserve it."

Just then, Carlisle and Edward walked up the driveway towards us, looking a bit sad. Esme glanced up at her husband. "It's that time, huh?" she asked.

"That it is, I'm afraid."

Esme and I rose and walked towards the car, her arm still around my shoulders, and my arm around her slender waist.

"Now, don't think twice about calling us whenever you want, ok?" Esme said.

"The same goes for you two. Call me anytime," I replied, sensing tears threatening to spill from my eyes. This was it. They were about to leave.

We stopped at the car and Esme wrapped me in a hug, rocking me back and forth.

"My sweet girl, I'll miss you," Esme said. I could hear the emotion coming through in her voice, which caused a few tears to fall from my eyes.

"I'll miss you, too, Esme," I mumbled into her shoulder. She sniffled.

"Thank you again for everything." She pulled back and touched my chin briefly. She then took my hands in hers and smiled.

"You take care of each other." She glanced back at Edward, who was hugging Carlisle. I nodded.

"We will. Thank you." A few more tears fell from my eyes. Esme and I both released our grips to wipe our tears. Carlisle walked to me then and kissed my forehead before hugging me briefly.

"I'm so proud of you, Bella. Your home is lovely, and you really are coming into your own," he murmured, touching my shoulder in a fatherly gesture. "I will miss you, but I know you'll be ok."

"I think I will be, too."

"After all, you have some pretty great neighbours," Carlisle motioned to Edward with his head, causing me to giggle. The levity was needed, that was for sure.

"I do. Thank you, Carlisle."

He rubbed my arm. "No, Bella, thank you for taking us in these last two weeks. It really was a great vacation, seeing all you kids again." Carlisle let go of my arm and took Esme's free hand--the other hand was busy wiping tears she had shed while hugging her first born son.

I felt an arm circle my shoulders and a kiss upon my temple. "You ok?" Edward asked quietly as we watched Esme and Carlisle get into the car and fasten their seatbelts.

I nodded slowly, willing it to be true.

I heard Carlisle start up the car. I looked up to see their windows both rolling down before pulling out of the driveway.

"We love you both," Esme called through the drivers' side window, waving sadly.

"We love you too, Mom," Edward answered, returning the wave.

Edward and I watched as the car backed out of the driveway, only to unexpectedly cease. Carlisle waved his hand out the window, holding something tiny between his fingers. I looked at Edward; he appeared just as confused as I felt, so we approached the car.

"Take this, son," Carlisle requested, dropping the tiny object in Edward's open palm. It was a digital memory card. "From your mother's camera. It's better kept here. There's no need to bring it back to Boston with us and take any unnecessary risks with your safety, Bella," Carlisle explained.

It made sense, even though there was no way that James or anyone from Boston, besides the Cullen's, could find me, let alone know that I was still alive. Regardless, that memory card contained documented proof that I was still alive. New hairdo or no new hair do, I would be recognized easily, especially by James.

Edward slipped the memory card into his pocket and nodded with a serious expression weighing on his features. "Good idea, Dad. We'll keep it here with us."

Carlisle looked relieved as he watched Edward tuck the card into his pocket. "Good. Take care, guys. We'll call when we get home," Carlisle said, putting the car back into reverse, and looking at us meaningfully before backing out completely onto the street. As they drove off, I saw Esme waving frantically, emotionally. We watched until the Cooper Mini was completely out of sight.

I felt a sad sigh at my side. "So," Edward said, breaking the silence. "What would you like to do for the remainder of the day, love?" I could tell by his tone that he was trying to lighten the sombre mood we were undoubtedly both suffering from at the moment.

I took a deep breath before saying, "Let's figure out when we're going on the winery tour."

After consulting Edward's schedule, we were able to book the Port Angeles winery tour for exactly three weeks after Esme and Carlisle returned to Boston.

The weeks leading up to that weekend were filled with intense longing and some awkwardness on my part. What exactly did I expect would happen that weekend? Would we be intimate, or would my fear over power my logic and reason and ruin whatever moments we had together? Would I be _able _to be intimate with Edward at all? After all, the last time that I had had sex, I was forced by my husband, and my body ached due to his aggressiveness for nearly a week afterward. Would I allow Edward to get that close to me? The logical side of my brain told me that it was time that I was a sexual being whose needs weren't being met - and hadn't been met for nearly three years. I needed to express my love for Edward in a physical way. I was sure that he wanted me; I could tell by how heated our kisses had become, the look of longing in his deep green eyes, and the way his fingers caressed my skin during our many make out sessions.

I felt like I was reverting back into my horny teenager self again...

The fearful, more mature part of me, however, worried that I would succumb to my terror and memories of what James did to me, that I would run screaming from any advances Edward threw my way, and he'd become so angered that he'd leave and never return. That was something that I couldn't bear to even think about. He had become more than just a great friend; he had become my confidante, my partner, and dare I say my life. I looked forward to every minute I got to spend with him, to be in his arms, to kiss his gentle lips. Now, I fantasized more and more about what it would be like to share his bed, to feel a different sort of touch from him than I had become accustomed to, to see lust saturate his stare and to feel him inside of me.

After consulting the Internet for a few hours, we happily settled upon reserving the Cedar Suite at Colette's Bed & Breakfast in Port Angeles. From the pictures on their website, it looked quite romantic and quaint, while still being a bit indulgent at the same time. The suite came with a large living room area and a large jacuzzi tub which was positioned right beside a window overlooking a gorgeous view of the water. Meanwhile, Edward contacted three different wineries to set up the times for us to come in and taste the wines of the region. We would leave just as soon as I returned from class Friday evening, and would be back in Forks by Sunday night.

Friday evening after work, I quickly changed into some dark jeans and a royal blue blouse with a black cardigan over it. Almost as soon as I finished changing, I heard Edward's trademark knock at my front door. I grabbed my small overnight bag and descended the stairs to greet him.

"Hi, Beautiful," Edward said. The smile that he presented me with was breathtaking. He looked impeccable, wearing dark slacks and a blue and black striped button down shirt, un-tucked. His hair had been tamed, but only slightly. I think I gaped at him for a few seconds before he pulled me toward him gently and kissed my lips, waking me from my obvious inspection of him.

"Hi," I breathed, smiling happily at him.

"You ready to go?" he asked, tilting his head toward the duffle bag in my hand. I realized I was still holding it, and released it to the ground beside me.

"Almost," I replied. "Should I change? I mean, I know you mentioned dinner, but should I be dressier, or..."

He looked me up and down with a smile. "You're perfect, love." I beamed at his pet name and must have blushed at the fact that he had called _me _perfect.

"I'll take your bag to the car and we'll go whenever you're ready," Edward continued, reaching for my bag.

We were about to go on our first overnight trip together.

Tonight would be the first time we'd share a bed.

My insecurities and fears suddenly screamed at me internally, and I must have looked like I was going to pass out, because Edward forgot all about the bag and took my hand.

"You still up for this? I mean, we can cancel this trip at any time. Just say the word, and I'll call up the B & B and cancel our reservations and--"

I put my hand up to his lips, halting his words momentarily. I hated hearing the tone of worry and insecurity present in Edward's voice, and I hated that I was the one that put it there.

"No, no, no," I reassured quickly. "I've been looking forward to this trip for three weeks now. I want to go. I'm sorry. I just spaced out there. I swear to you, I want to go!" I said, trying to make up for my space-out.

His face visibly relaxed. "As long as you're sure. This trip is for _you _to see the sights. It's an added bonus that I get to come along with you, too." He smiled, bringing my hand up to his lips and planting a firm kiss on the back of my hand.

"It'll be a privilege to be escorted to these wineries by the likes of you," I said, adding a bit of a southern twang to my voice and fluttering my eyelashes daintily. Edward laughed and pulled me toward him, wrapping his arms around my waist and nuzzling my neck suddenly. "Mmm," I moaned quietly with the pleasure of being so close to him.

"I love you," he murmured into my neck before placing a few kisses there. "I cannot _wait _for this trip."

"Well, you'll have to wait another few minutes. I have to grab my other shoes from upstairs," I replied, extracting myself begrudgingly from his welcome hold and rushing up the stairs to grab my shoes.

I turned off the lights and locked up the house behind me. Edward already had his car parked on my driveway, and was standing by the passenger side door with his hands behind his back. He watched me approach him with a small grin, and pulled open the door for me. I whispered a _thank you _to him, along with displaying my slight blush, and hopped into the car. He closed the door behind me after ensuring that all parts of me were safely in the car and went around to his side.

As Edward buckled in and turned the key in the ignition, bringing the car to life, the butterflies I felt about this new step in our relationship began fluttering wildly within my stomach, making my heart speed up. As if he could hear my heart pounding, Edward reached over the hand brake and took my hand in his.

"You good, love?" he asked, searching my eyes for any sign of anxiety or distress. I had none to offer him, thankfully.

I rubbed his hand with my thumb and beamed at him."Absolutely."

* * *

**_...the next chapter is going to be fun...tee hee...let me know what you think of Esme and Carlisle's departure..._**

**_Oh, and Colette's B & B exists, and the pictures of the Cedar Suite are gorgeous!_**


	17. A Weekend to Remember

_**I'm not Stephenie Meyer. This story is written for entertainment, not profit...don't sue me. Pretty please?**_

_Thanks for your reviews!! Here's the chapter that everyone's been waiting for, AND it was over 7000 words long!! Consider it a late Easter present!_

_As always, thanks to Meghan for beta'ing._

_Keep those reviews coming!_

_On with it!! _

_**WARNING: There is a mention of non-consensual sex in this chapter. If this offends you, do not read the flashback. Thanks.**_

* * *

Before I knew it, Edward and I were making the drive to Port Angeles. As we drove, Edward held my hand over the centre console of the car. His skin felt so wonderful against mine that every so often, I had to remind myself that he was real; that our trip was real. I rubbed small circles on the back of his hand, and in response, Edward squeezed my hand briefly, confirming that it _was _real.

We arrived at Colette's Bed & Breakfast around 6:20 in the evening, and checked in. I was in love with the room the minute we walked in; the photos online didn't do the room justice. The king sized bed was prominently situated at the centre of the room, covered with lush comforters and soft white pillows, but there were other focal points that I noticed immediately that I must have skimmed over on the list of amenities. There was a two seat sofa directly in front of the bed, facing a fireplace that was already burning brightly. Above the fireplace was a television. Beyond the bedroom was the bathroom, which contained the generously sized Jacuzzi.

I had walked into the room ahead of Edward, but he was behind me setting our two overnight bags on a folding table to the side. I felt his arms wrap around my waist slowly.

"Nice room, right?" he asked, his chin resting on my shoulder.

"_Nice _would be an understatement, Edward. This room is gorgeous. I'm just sorry we can't stay longer than two nights."

"We can come back whenever you'd like. We're not too far away from home, and a weekend away every so often is good for the soul," he mused, turning to face me. "Are you hungry yet?"

"Sure, let me freshen up. I'll be ready in a few minutes," I said, about to grab my bag to pull out my makeup case, when I felt Edward take my hand. I looked at him questioningly, wondering what was wrong, when he smiled amazingly at me and said, "thank you for coming with me, love."

"You are incredibly welcome, baby," I said, returning the smile.

"'_Baby_?'" Edward asked, amusedly.

"Yeah, I'm trying it out. You like?" I retorted just as amusedly.

"Yeah, I do, _baby_,_" _he breathed, lowering his face to mine and kissing my lips sweetly before letting my hand go. "Go get ready. I'll be here."

After I reapplied some lip gloss and a tiny bit of powder, we left for the restaurant, which Edward assured me would be great. I trusted him, and was repaid with a fabulous dinner at an Italian restaurant called _Bella Italia_, which I found ironic. We had fried calamari and a fresh Caesar salad to start, and I had the fettuccine al carbonara, while Edward had the Porterhouse pork chop.

By the time we returned to our room, we were both tired and wanted to relax a bit. I had the perfect suggestion; the Jacuzzi.

Edward unlocked the door to our suite and we entered silently. I sat on the bed and undid my shoes, setting them aside neatly as Edward began unbuttoning his shirt. I watched with wonder as his shirt came off and revealed a white short sleeved t-shirt underneath. He looked delectable, and I was pretty sure he knew I thought so because he sauntered toward me purposefully casting his shirt aside.

"Bella," he breathed, taking a seat beside me, "would you like to get into the jacuzzi with me?"

He had completely read my mind, and I told him so. He chuckled and kissed my lips in his sweet and sultry way, causing me to want to rip all his clothing off of him. After the kiss, I nodded and smiled.

"Let me go get the water ready for you, baby," Edward said, kissing my temple before rising and going into the bathroom.

I heard the water beginning to fill the Jacuzzi steadily. I turned toward my suitcase and began rifling through it to find my bikini top. I was pretty sure that the Jacuzzi would have been more easily enjoyed without the hindrance of clothing, but I didn't want to push myself just yet. Getting into the jacuzzi with Edward was already a huge step. I wanted to make sure I was ready for this before delving into unchartered territory with Edward: frontal nudity.

I grasped the string of the simple black bikini top and the matching bottoms I had recently purchased from the local Target store--a store that had become my personal favourite since moving to the US--and glanced over to the bathroom. The door was completely closed. I changed quickly into my bikini and was adjusting the straps when I heard the door to the bathroom open and Edward step out.

"The water's--" Edward began to say, but froze when his eyes locked on my scantily-clad body. I watched as his eyes roamed over my form from head to toe and back again. A flirtatious smile graced his lips, and he inhaled deeply. "Wow. You truly are a siren, Bella."

"Uh, thanks," I mumbled, unsure of how to receive such a compliment. He seemed to get his bearings as he finished the statement he'd stopped halfway conveying before.

"The water's ready for us, love." He held out his hand to me. Unsteadily, I walked toward him and placed my hand in his with a smile. He helped me into the tub, all the while holding my hand chivalrously as I stepped in. The water temperature was just right for me; I enjoyed my bath water slightly hotter than warm. Sinking into the Jacuzzi, I sighed at the feel of the wet heat against my skin and closed my eyes.

When I opened my eyes moments later, Edward was wearing just boxer shorts and was stepping slowly into the Jacuzzi beside me. I took a moment to admire him. There was a small amount of copper-coloured hair on his chest. He had a lean and muscular upper body without it being too much so and his abs were just perfectly defined. I had the urge to feel every inch of his body at that moment, to see if it all felt as silky as I thought it looked.

Seeing Edward without a shirt had turned me into a horn dog. I think I moaned softly when I saw him step into the water, because he grinned knowingly at me then.

Silently, he put an arm around my shoulder and encouraged me to rest my head against his chest, which I happily did. He reached over and pressed the button for the jets, and they whirred to life around us, throwing up thousands of tiny bubbles into the water, and heightening my sense of relaxation tenfold.

"This is truly bliss," I murmured quietly, absently swishing the water around the tub.

"I agree." Edward looked at me briefly before lifting his arm from around my shoulders and pushing me gently to move forward. He positioned himself behind me, with me between his legs, and wrapped both arms around my shoulders. I had to admit that this position was even more relaxing.

"Mmmm," I sounded happily. Edward slowly swept the hair falling around my shoulders to the side and kissed the nape of my neck softly.

A kiss, another kiss, a longer kiss.

"Mmmm," I moaned again, contentedly aware that he had found my erogenous spot quite quickly. His lips found my ear and he whispered, "I love you, Bella," causing a shiver to run throughout my body.

"I love you, too," I replied quietly, not willing to ruin the moment by talking excessively loudly. He continued to press soft kisses upon the side of my neck and shoulders. He reached the place where the string of my bikini rested and pulled slowly, no doubt wanting to free me of it.

"Is this ok?" he asked quietly.

"Yeah." I smiled at his question, since it would be the first time he would see me topless, and he didn't want to scare me by being too forward.

Would he like what he saw? Was he a breast man?

The questions roiling around in my head ceased as I felt the strings of the bikini top floated away from body. With slow and gentle hands, Edward began his exploration of my torso with my stomach under the horizon of water. He worked his way up, rubbing my skin in sensual circles before moving further still. He reached the swell of my breasts and paused to take a deep breath, and then ventured further, feeling the skin along the side of my breasts. His fingers felt like silk as they glided over my skin. He slowly cupped one breast, and then the other, in a hesitant sort of way.

"Mmm," I encouraged, hoping to assure him that these actions were causing me pleasure and that all my discomfort was currently buried. It worked, because he began moving slightly faster, cupping and gripping my breasts while still kissing my neck.

The feeling of the water crashing over and over on my legs and torso, combined with the way Edward's hands felt on me were sending me over the edge of ecstasy. Reason flew out the window, and at that moment, I wanted to discard my bikini bottoms and Edward's boxer shorts, and have my way with him in the Jacuzzi.

I turned to face him in the water and placed my knees on either side of his, straddling him. Desire and lust had made me bold, and I began sliding my hands over his chest slowly, as I had wanted to moments before, and kissed him deeply. He reciprocated the kiss hungrily. His hands began running through my hair as I turned my head to get a better angle on Edward's delicious mouth.

He swept my hair aside and began kissing down my neck once again, causing my levels of desire to skyrocket.

"Oh, Edward," I breathed, never wanting his kisses to stop.

"Mmm," he mumbled into my neck as he continued his welcome assault on my neck.

Beneath me, I could feel Edward's growing erection, and it was becoming harder as the minutes progressed. No doubt, he was feeling just as turned on and excited as I was. My reasonable side was telling me to be afraid of his desire, and to dash out of there, but my brain reminded me that I wanted to be with Edward in every way.

"Baby," Edward whispered huskily into my ear. "Let's take this elsewhere."

_Let's take this elsewhere, Marie..._

James' voice echoed in my head suddenly, gripping me with immediate fear as the same words slipped from Edward's lips.

That voice, those words, the intent behind those words, the combination of the situation and those words instantly threw me into a memory of my life in Boston...

_The night that our child was conceived was a night like any other. James had begun taking sex forcefully, since I wouldn't concede without certain coercion. _

_After I had finished preparing dinner that night, I had taken my seat to James' right at the dinner table and began eating, waiting, of course, for him to begin eating first before touching my plate at all. We ate in silence, save for the radio playing softly in the background. It was always tuned to the local classical station during dinner. James wouldn't have it any other way, since silence drove him even crazier than normal. _

_James finally finished his meal, nodding at me and wiping his mouth with a napkin before dropping the now soiled napkin in his empty plate. _

_"Delicious, Marie," he said simply. That was about as much of a sincere compliment as I'd ever get out of him these days. I couldn't help but smile at his unexpected words. _

_"Thank you." I rose and began clearing the table when I felt his hand encircle my wrist in a tight grip._

_"You can thank me by kissing me. I think it's only fair, don't you think? A man needs to have a kiss from his wife every so often, right?" His tone was slightly amused, and there was a sparkle in his eye that I hadn't seen in months. Again, I smiled, thinking that perhaps he really was trying to return to being the good husband I knew was inside of him somewhere..._

_I lowered my lips to his and kissed him sweetly a few times. It was the sort of kiss that reminded me of our newlywed kisses; the type of kisses that came before the abuse, before the bruises, before the name calling. James even returned the kiss in the same sort of innocent sweetness that he once had with me. He released my wrist and wrapped his arm around my waist, pulling me closer to him. Since he was still seated, it made the position awkward, but I didn't complain because I knew where _that _would lead me. He suddenly stopped kissing my lips and, without warning, yanked my blouse open, causing buttons to fly this way and that. He buried his face in my chest, leaving less than soft kisses there before venturing lower and tugging on the zipper to my skirt. _

_I slowly began realizing that the sweetness of the moment had evaporated as his touches became rougher and harsher. _

_"James, please stop," I begged quietly, squirming suddenly to get out of his grasp. I knew it wouldn't work, but I had to try, if only for my own dignity._

_"We've only just begun," he spoke confidently. "Let's take this elsewhere, Marie," he growled, his voice dripping with animal lust. He grabbed me and threw me over his shoulder. The trip wasn't very far; he dropped me most unceremoniously on the leather sofa in the family room and began to unbuckle his belt._

_"Fighting me is pointless, Marie. I always get what I want. You should know that by now..."_

_He released into me three times that night, so it was no surprise that I became pregnant. My nether regions were sore for a few days after that, but the bruises I had on my neck because he had held me down as he came would remain visible for nearly a week and a half afterward..._

I stopped kissing Edward and pulled away from him suddenly, retreating to the other end of the Jacuzzi, chanting, "I can't do this, I can't do this," so quietly that I doubt that Edward heard me. He watched me do this with a look of sheer confusion upon his face.

"Baby?" he asked, reaching for me slowly, wide-eyed, as if he were trying to approach a wild animal who was backed into a corner. "What's wrong? What did I do?"

I wrapped my arms around my chest in a futile effort to cover myself from his eyes.

_Let's take this elsewhere..._

_I always get what I want..._

I couldn't get my lips to move the way I wanted them to. I remained silent until Edward's movement startled me out of my stupor. He was slowly making his way toward me. The look of worry on his face killed me.

"Talk to me, Bella. Tell me what I did, please," he begged. "Was I going too fast? Did I push you too hard?"

I shook my head as I began to rise out of the Jacuzzi. He watched me go silently, thankfully realizing that I needed a moment alone. I reached for a towel and wrapped it around me comfortingly before turning to him and saying, "give me a minute, please." Without waiting for his reply, I left the bathroom and closed the door behind me. After drying myself as quickly as possible, I removed my bikini bottoms and changed into my pyjamas. I tied my hair in a haphazard pony tail and got into the bed, curling up into a ball. Once I was there, the anguish and terror I had felt that night rushed upon me and buried me in tears.

I began sobbing. It was a combination of things that caused those tears to gush out of me.

The same words that James had murmured to me had only sparked an initial reaction, they were the catalyst, but they weren't the reason I was crying.

They were just words, after all. Words couldn't hurt me anymore.

What made me sob was that I felt that I could never escape the memories, even when I was trying to move on and be happy with Edward. _He_ would still be at the back of my mind, tormenting and reminding me. Though I tried to move on, I became aware that maybe it was a lost cause, and I'd always be this broken and abused woman.

Maybe I'd never be good enough for Edward.

He deserved someone who didn't freak out when he was just trying to please her.

He deserved someone who wasn't broken.

It tore my heart out when I thought of it, because I was absolutely sure that I already loved Edward more than I had ever loved James in the entirety of our marriage, even in the beginning. It would hurt me more than any of James' slaps or punches or contusions had ever hurt me if I lost Edward.

I was still sobbing and pondering a life without Edward when I heard the bathroom door open and close.

Over my sobs, I heard a suitcase zipper open. Moments later, Edward stood before me. I didn't see him, because I had kept my eyes closed as I cried, but I could feel his presence in front of me.

"Love," he began in a cautious tone. "Is there anything I can do?"

"Hold me, Edward. Please?" I knew I was being selfish, because I knew he deserved someone better than me, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to feel his body around mine.

"Of course," he replied softly, nodding. He pulled the covers back enough for him to slide in behind me. He wrapped his arms around me and tightly brought me to him, kissing my hair as he did so. I felt his legs behind mine, and realized that they were clad in jogging pants. He had changed into his own sleeping clothes before approaching me.

"You can talk to me whenever you're ready, baby," he said. For a few moments, I relished just listening to Edward's quiet breathing behind me. I knew I'd have to speak sometime, though. At length, I broke the relative silence.

"What you said...I was reminded of _him_...the night I became pregnant...he said..." Even though I wanted to tell him everything, something caught the words in my throat, and stopped them from coming forth completely. Thankfully, Edward understood which words he'd said that caused me to collapse into the emotional mess he held in his arms.

"God, I'm so sorry, sweetheart." He sounded heartbroken. His hold on me tightened slightly.

"It wasn't your fault. You had no idea I would react the way I did. Please don't apologise."

"But I have to. I keep saying things and doing things that take you back to that time of your life, and I hate it."

I wanted to look into his green eyes, but I knew the horrible sadness that would lie within them. I couldn't express what I was feeling to him. The tears just kept falling from my eyes because I thought that I would never be enough for this man.

"What are you thinking, Bella?" he asked softly, running the back of his hand over my cheek in a gesture that, despite my emotional low, made me smile a little. Unfortunately, my voice had disappeared, because I just couldn't reply at the moment. Instead, I shook my head lightly. I felt Edward inhale deeply, possibly out of irritation.

Behind me, I felt him shift and his hands release me. I thought the next thing I would sense was him leaving the bed, but instead, his hands returned to my waist. He pulled me toward him in a motion to make me face him. I followed his movements and I came face to face with my love and his concerned expression. He reached out again and stroked my cheek soothingly, then placed it at my hip. He studied my face for a moment before speaking.

"I have a feeling I know exactly what you're thinking."

I blinked and cleared a few tears from my eyes, sniffling.

His eyes softened and he frowned briefly. "You're thinking that this is your fault. That you aren't worth my worry or concern. You're ashamed of how you feel." My eyes widened at the realization that he had absolutely read my mind.

Edward held me even closer, until our noses were practically touching each other, and he stared intensely into my eyes, searching for something there.

"You _are _worth it, Bella," he expressed passionately, his hand at my hip gripping me tighter as he emphasised his words. "You are."

A few more tears escaped from my eyes. Before they fell down across my face, Edward leaned in and kissed them away.

"That bastard will pay dearly for what he did to you, Bella. I promise you that. One way or another, he'll pay," he nearly growled with anger. "He didn't love you, at least not the way I do. What he did to you wasn't love." He kissed my forehead before continuing his thought. "_This_ is love. What we have is love, what you do to me, that's love. You're my life now. There is nothing that I wouldn't do for you. If I have to prove to you every day for the rest of our lives that you're absolutely worth it, that's what I'll do." He sounded determined to demonstrate to me his feelings, and it ignited a small hope within my chest. But my doubts overpowered that hope and effectively quelled it.

"But I'm a broken mess. You don't need someone like me in your life." My voice came out so small, it sounded strangled.

"You are _not _broken, love. And you are _exactly _who I need in my life. You're everything to me. You're breathtakingly beautiful, courageous, intelligent, and dedicated. I need you. All of you. Any way that you'll let me have you."

I let out a breath, wrapping my head around all the romantic things Edward had just told me. His eyes told me that every single word he had said was completely true.

"I don't know if I can...if we can...tonight."

He smiled then, showing me that it didn't matter to him what we did tonight.

"I would be absolutely content holding you all night, my love. Or whatever would make you feel the most comfortable."

I nodded. "Would you? Hold me, that is."

"Of course." I settled my head upon his chest as he wrapped his arms around me and lay upon his back. He placed a small kiss upon my forehead and sighed.

"You have to know how much I adore you."

"I do."

"Please remember that. I've never felt this strongly about anything, not even about becoming a doctor. I love you with all of my heart."

"I'm sorry for questioning it--" Edward instantly stopped my words with a sweet kiss upon my lips before reaching for the light at the bedside and turning it off.

"No more apologies, love. Just rest now. We have a full day ahead of us tomorrow at the wineries."

"Ok. Thank you. I love you so much," I said, feeling a final tear slip down my cheek.

"And I love you. Good night, baby."

* * *

We woke early, wrapped in each other's arms, and with content smiles upon our faces. It was the first time that I awoke staring into Edward's face, and I was absolutely thrilled by it. I could get used to waking up staring at perfection to start my day.

Once we got up, Edward and I took our showers, and dressed for the day. I was unsure about the weather forecast, so I wore a green blouse with a thin black belt, and a pair of low-rise dark blue jeans. I made sure to bring with me my white cardigan in case I needed it. I wore my ballerina flats since I didn't exactly know how much walking we'd be doing, and I wanted to be comfortable. Edward wore a pair of jeans and a button down shirt with faint red and white stripes and the sleeves rolled up. Again, my libido perked up at the sight of him, but remembering last night's reaction, it was immediately silenced.

We ate a hearty breakfast in the dining room while admiring the view of the ocean through the massive windows.

When we had sated our hunger, Edward announced that it was time to head out to the first winery; Harbinger Winery.

Edward drove us out there, all the while holding my hand. A peaceful smile rested upon his face the entire drive, which I was relieved to see since all the events of last night terrified me into thinking that our trip was ruined. On the contrary, we seemed to be more comfortable with each other because of the airing out of all my insecurities. He knew that I had doubts about my worth, and I knew that he would continue to do anything to ease my doubts. I was happy to be proven wrong by him, and was glad that he was willing to show me his affections so readily.

The scenery was simply awe-inspiring. Though Boston was along the water, it was a city filled with tall office buildings and bustling with life. Port Angeles, at least the Port Angeles we saw along the way to the wineries, was nestled within nature. The roads were winding in long S's, and I saw the Olympic Mountains in the far distance, which gave me a sublime sense of amazement. Having always lived in Toronto, the closest thing I had personally seen to a mountain there was when my high school friends and I went skiing at Blue Mountain lodge, in Collingwood, Ontario, and even still, nothing could compare to the sheer majesty of seeing such a large landmass with the naked eye.

When we arrived, there were a few other visitors already there. The hostess welcomed us and began asking us questions about our preference of wines.

My parents preferred red wine, and I grew to appreciate it, too. I always suspected that it was because my dad's closest friend, Miguel, was of Portuguese decent and introduced him to the wines of his country, most of the best ones in his opinion being red, of course.

Edward was a white wine sort of drinker, but asked for a glass of both their most recent vintages of red and white for him to try the two. I did the same and sat down at the bar in the entrance of the winery.

As we swirled the first glasses of wine around in our mouths, as Edward instructed me to, the hostess began listing the various qualities of the wines we were tasting, noting their body and notes of this and that. I didn't understand any of it, but appreciated the tastes all the same. Edward pointed out the small bucket that one would dispose of the wine in order to clear the palate for the next wine, but I thought it was silly to spit it out, so I smiled, shook my head, and swallowed the wine happily.

"It seems like a waste of wine to just taste it and spit it out before fully enjoying it," I commented, watching him set the wine glass down before him.

"Most wine connoisseurs would disagree with you, but you make a valid point," he mused, shrugging and downing the contents of his own glass with a smirk.

We waited a few moments before testing our second glasses. I swallowed mine again, but Edward spit his out. 'To save room for the next wines,' he told me. After all, he was driving.

After taking a short tour of the grounds, hand in hand the entire time, we departed for the next winery, Olympic Cellars Winery, which was owned and run by three women who were nicknamed 'the Olympic Women in Wine'. I was excited when Edward disclosed this tidbit of information to me. Their wines didn't disappoint either. I especially loved their _Go Girl_ red wine. So much so that I made sure to buy a bottle for myself in their shop.

After leaving Olympic Cellars, we headed to Black Diamond Winery Thankfully; Edward had had the forethought to pack a few sandwiches for lunch from Colette's to ensure we kept up with the to-the-minute itinerary we had created for ourselves. We ate them in the parking lot before entering the winery.

At Black Diamond Winery, which had some wonderful fruit wines, Edward insisted on buying two bottles of their Strawberry-Rhubarb wine. It was our favourite by far--since we were both partial to strawberry.

The final winery we visited was Camaraderie Cellars, which boasted 'wines of character'. The notion completely baffled me, but once Edward tasted their Cabernet Sauvignon, he nodded and agreed with their description. There, he bought a bottle of their 2004 vintage.

By the time we left Camaraderie Cellars, I was more than a bit tipsy from all the half-glasses of wines I had ingested, despite eating those sandwiches at Black Diamond. Edward teased me lovingly, telling me it was time to have dinner. He drove us to Michael's Steakhouse, the restaurant that Esme & Carlisle took us to eat the night of my birthday. During our early dinner--because it was only about five o'clock--we enjoyed talking about our wonderful day together and about all the sights and the tastes we'd experienced.

When we finished our meals, Edward insisted on paying the bill, stating that the _entire _trip was a part of the birthday present, not just the winery tours.

Reluctantly, I agreed, but only after I made him promise that the next time we came to Port Angeles, I would pay for dinner and our accommodations.

We returned to the B & B utterly exhausted. My slight wine buzz had dissipated greatly, but I could still feel its effects working through my bloodstream.

Once we had changed into more comfortable clothes--me, in my Lululemon yoga pants, and Edward in his black Adidas pants--Edward turned on the television and flopped on his stomach on the bed, flipping through the various pay-per-view selections available. He reminded me of a teenager with the way he had fallen on the bed, propped up on his elbows with the television remote in his hand. I smiled at the scene before me.

"Hey," he called. "They're playing _27 Dresses_ on Pay Per View. Want to watch it, baby?" Edward asked me sweetly. How could I refuse such a kind request? I nodded, settling in beside him, ready to lie on my stomach to match him. Before I could get into that position, Edward sat up and placed a few pillows behind his head and lay down, still with a perfect view of the television, and opened his arms to me.

"Come here, love."

"Gladly," I replied with a smile as I lay into his arms and felt his lips press into my hair gently.

I had never seen this movie, but I was glad I was watching it with Edward. We laughed heartily when Jane and Kevin got drunk in the bar and danced to "Benny and the Jets", and I shed a tear when Jane finally got the wedding of her dreams.

As the credits rolled, I looked over at the time and saw that it was only nine-thirty. I was completely sober, and wide awake, albeit completely mellowed and relaxed as I lay in Edward's arms.

"So, what do you want to do now, love?" Edward's voice called out beside me. I looked up at him and smiled.

"Kiss me?"

He gladly obliged, burying his hand in the hair at the base of my neck as he kissed my lips reverently. He opened his mouth and gently stroked my tongue with his. He wasn't demanding in his kiss, nor did he plunge his tongue in my mouth with reckless abandon. Instead, it was more like a lover's caress, gentle, slow, unhurried. His slow yet passionate kisses were helping my need grow steadily. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and pressed him toward me. He didn't fight the closeness at all.

That is, until I put my hand on his chest, and trailed it lower, toward the waistband of his pants.

Slowly, he pulled away from me and held me by the shoulders, with an apprehensive look on his face.

"Wait, love," he said in a quiet voice.

"What? Don't you want to..."

"Of course I do, but I wanted to make sure of something."

I was silent and righted myself on the bed, sitting up straight to face him. I had no idea what he could possibly have to say.

"I want to make it absolutely clear that I did not whisk you away to a bed and breakfast with the sole intention of seducing you." I felt like stopping him there, because I knew that he hadn't suggested this excursion for that reason at all, but he shook his head, stopping me in my tracks. "While I must point out the obvious--that I am a man who is madly in love with you and who would cherish the chance to make love to you all night long--" he continued, releasing one hand and smoothing the back of his hand along my cheek. "I won't push anything tonight, nor any night for that matter."

Before I could reply, Edward took my hands in his and stared intensely and desperately into my eyes.

"Bella," Edward murmured, running a hand slowly through a strand of my hair. "Please, you have to tell me what you want."

He turned, and I felt his lips graze my shoulder, then rest there to place an open mouthed kiss upon it. And then another kiss. He placed another kiss slightly higher up along my neck, just under my ear. This simple action made me shiver in anticipation.

"Mmm," I mumbled. After the meaningful words spoken only moments before, it appeared I was not yet in control of my mouth. Add to that the fact that I was being distracted by the beautiful man kissing my neck, and my functionality became minimal at best.

"Bella, my love," he pleaded, accentuating each word with a small and soft kiss under my ear again. "Tell me. What do you want?" he asked again.

"I want you," I sighed, squeezing my eyes shut tightly.

"Are you sure that this is what you want?" He sounded anxious, as if my answer could destroy him in an instant.

"Edward," I said lowly. "I want..."

"What, baby?"

"I want you to make love to me."

I felt more than I heard a sigh come from Edward. His hands came up on either side of me and slid along my hips. He spun me to face him and instantly captured my mouth with his. The passion and strength in his lips was unmistakable. Coming up for air, he brought his hands up to my face and cupped it sweetly, with a penetrating stare that showed me the depth of his love for me.

"I love you so very much, Bella," he whispered.

"I love you, too."

Little by little, our clothes were shed and discarded upon the floor, kisses replacing where they had been. When I was down to my panties, and Edward down to his boxer briefs, he resumed his passionate exploration of my mouth and lowered me to the bed. He hovered over me, slightly panting, alternating between adoring my neck and my mouth with his kisses.

His lips on mine made my heart beat furiously, like it would pound right out of my chest, but when he slowly began pressing the weight of his body over mine, aligning our still-clothed centers just right, my heart beat picked up to a rate faster than I thought possible. It wasn't terror. It wasn't fear. It was excitement and anticipation that caused this physical reaction. It must have translated to causing my breathing to shorten, too. Edward noticed.

"Love, breathe," he said with a smile, watching my expression. I giggled softly, almost embarrassedly.

"Sorry. You'd think this sort of thing was new to me, the way I'm reacting."

Edward put his weight upon his forearms and gazed at me with that same crooked smile that melted my paranoid heart when we first met.

"In a way, this is new to me, too, since I've never made love before," he paused to kiss my lips briefly. "I mean, I've done _this _before, but never with someone I've loved with my whole heart."

I smiled at his words and nodded minutely before replying.

"I can't believe how much I love you." I couldn't stop the emotion from seeping from my voice. I watched as he squeezed his eyes closed and smiled, placing his forehead to mine.

"It's pretty incredible, huh?" he mused. "Believe it, because it's the same for me, Bella. I love you. I only want to make you happy, baby. Tell me if I hurt you, ok?"

"Ok," I replied, touching his cheek slowly with the pads of my fingers.

Slowly, I slipped my white lace edged panties down, raising my hips to shimmy them down all the way. Edward was about to lower his boxers when he caught sight of me removing my panties. His eyes grew dark with lust. His previous task forgotten, he bent his head toward me and captured my mouth with his passionately, furiously. I felt a moan rumble from his lips and into mine as he sucked my lower lip into his mouth.

He inched his way lower, down my neck again, his lips blazing a trail of scorching hot kisses that were quite literally taking my breath away. His lips then settled upon the skin between my breasts as his hands gently massaged each breast tenderly. He took a nipple into his mouth and sucked greedily, making me gasp in pleasure. His hand rubbed the other breast slowly with his free hand, then smoothed the underside until his hand sensuously moved to my stomach and reached just above my core. He raised his eyes to me, releasing the nipple from his mouth. Giving him a non-verbal cue to continue his direction, I smiled ever so slightly.

He understood the cue, because I felt one finger slowly reach my lower lips and rub languidly. His fingers were warm and careful as they traced my lips. I felt a fresh wave of lust hit me with his ministrations, and I became increasingly moist where his fingers stroked me.

"So wet," he murmured quietly.

"For you, Edward," I replied, looking up at him. "Only for you."

I reached down and placed both my hands on the waistband of his boxers. "I need you." His eyes watched me as I tugged at his boxers. "These need to come off, baby."

He chuckled. "With pleasure, my love." He covered my hands with his, and pulled them down, revealing his gloriously erect manhood. I gasped quietly when I saw it, since it was much bigger than I had been used to with James. That was the last time my mind wandered to James for the rest of the night, though. He would _not _ruin this night for me. Thoughts of him would only cause harm, and tonight was all about feeling good and proving to Edward that I was his, mind, body, and soul.

We finally aligned our hips, and I could feel his erection pressing into my hips. The anticipation was absolutely crippling. He was so close to my centre, but he wasn't moving.

I pulled his face towards mine with both hands and kissed him deeply to encourage him. "I love you."

"I love you, too, Bella." He gyrated his hips, grinding them into mine, and then he began to kiss me again. Luscious, hot and deep kisses that burned my lips deliciously. I felt him shift and grab himself, positioning his erection right over where I needed it the most. His kisses continued as he began filling me slowly.

"Oh, God," I breathed into his mouth. He sheathed himself inside of me fully and stilled, taking a deep breath when he stopped.

"You feel so incredible, Bella."

"Mmmm," I replied, relishing how complete I felt with him buried inside of me. Moments later, he began to pull himself out and press back into me. I wrapped my arms around his upper body and gripped his back, digging my nails into his skin.

With each thrust of his hips, he somehow managed to bury himself deeper and deeper into me. He set a steady pace of motion, accentuating each thrust with a soft grunt.

"I am so in love with you, Edward Cullen," I managed to say. He slowed the movement of his hips and lowered his forehead to mine. His eyes closed tightly, and a look of absolute joy crept into his features.

"It makes me so happy to hear you say that, Bella. I adore you." I sighed as I heard the words of love leave his lips.

He raised his head and kissed me as his he picked up his pace. I began meeting his thrusts with my hips.

"Oh, Bella," he moaned in pleasure. "So amazing. Better than anything else in the world."

The feeling of him sliding in and out of me was unlike any of my previous sexual experiences. He was gentle, compassionate, careful, and more skilled than I was used to, that was for sure. All this added up to the sudden beginnings of a climax building within me.

"Faster," I begged. He gladly complied, and moved his hips quicker, with shorter strokes and shorter intakes of breath.

"Yes. Oh, Bella."

"Don't stop. I'm almost there," I said.

"Me, too, baby. Come with me," Edward replied, thrusting impossibly faster. Within a few minutes, Edward was making husky grunting noises that made me absolutely sure that he was on the precipice of his release. I grabbed the side of his face and made him look into my eyes as he continued moving.

"I'm going to come with you. I love you, I love you, I love you," I chanted. It seemed to throw him over the edge, because he began slamming into me with abandon until he called my name as if it were a prayer to God.

"Bella," he cried, as he found his release. I felt as his hot seed spilled inside me, triggering my own climax. It was much stronger than any orgasm I had ever felt, though. It was a powerful sensation that swept through my entire body, rendering me absolutely and mind-numbingly content and satisfied. His motions slowed then, and he collapsed beside me.

He ran a hand through my tousled hair, grinning lazily at me as he played with a strand of it, and then stroked my cheek. "Are you happy, my love?"

I nodded once and leaned into his hand with a contented sigh. "Life can't get any better than this."

"It can only get better, sweetheart. I hope to prove that to you from now on," Edward replied, still stroking my cheek. "Now, let's rest up. You've worn me out," he teased. His smile was brilliant. I poked him with a laugh.

"You tired _me _out!" I giggled. "Besides, are you so tired that you couldn't go for a second round?"

His eyes widened and I saw a sly grin appeared on his handsome face even in the dark. "Not at all, baby." He leaned forward and kissed my lips again, igniting the same passion that had just seemingly fizzled away with our climaxes.

We made love twice more that night. It was always unhurried, satisfying, and, best of all, it was always done with adoration. We chanted words of love to one another as we reached our peaks, and, as we lay side by side after sharing one of the most incredibly passionate nights of my life, I was sure that we both felt wanted and loved beyond any other experience we'd ever had before that night. To put it mildly, it was the best night of my life.

* * *

_**A/N:**_

_I think it's clear that I haven't been to Port Angeles, but doing all this research for this chapter has made me want to! I have only visited two wine regions before (Niagara Falls, ON & Napa Valley, CA), and have been on one real winery tour in Napa Valley, so forgive me if my description of what goes on in Port Angeles wineries isn't exactly accurate for Port Angeles. I am basing those descriptions on their websites and my own knowledge of a Napa Valley wine tour._

You can see all the wineries at the following websites:

harbingerwinery(.)com  
blackdiamondwinery(.)com  
camaraderiecellars(.)com  
olympiccellars(.)com

For more information about Michael's Seafood & Steakhouse, go to:

www(.)michaelsdining(.)com

For more information about Colette's B&B, go to:

www(.)colettes(.)com  
_(absolutely breathtaking views! I reallllllly want to go there someday!!)_

For more information about Port Angeles tourism, what to do there, where to eat, etc., go to:

www(.)portangeles(.)org

Thanks for reading!! Let me know what you thought of this little getaway...I know it was highly anticipated...I hope it met your expectations!!

_And YES, James is lurking around the corner...he'll make his grand re-appearance in a few chapters... _

~Fatima


	18. Uh Oh

_**I'm not Stephenie Meyer. This story is written for entertainment, not profit...don't sue me. Pretty please?**_

Thanks for your reviews!

Enjoy, and remember, this is a work of fiction, so I invite you to suspend your disbelief with me, just for a little while...

* * *

November was a wet one in Forks, something I was very unaccustomed to. Had I still been in Toronto, I'd already be wearing my heavy winter coat and shovelling snow at this time of year. Even in Boston, the winds would be fiercely cold and frigid by mid-November. In Forks, however, the ground was covered with fallen leaves that were constantly washed away by the near-daily rain showers we received.

Whether or not the recent rain was a result of global warming or because it was just Forks' weather, I couldn't tell, seeing as how it was my first autumn in the small town.

Despite the lack of the truly frigid weather I was familiar with, I still found myself feeling under the weather. I felt cold more often than not, and it was hard for me to smell anything foreign without throwing up. I told myself that if it persisted into December, that I would go to the clinic and get checked out. My students were always bringing their sicknesses with them into the classroom, so this was probably no different. I put it out of my mind and concentrated on Edward.

Edward and I had become impossibly close over the month after our weekend away. It was as if we had been dating for years. We fell into a comfortable yet exciting groove. When we returned from Port Angeles, we took turns staying overnight at each other's homes, but it wasn't always for sex, though I found that I never tired of being intimate with Edward. He was never overbearing or demanding before or during our love making. There were many nights when we would fall asleep holding each other after a long work day, needing only to touch one another to be satisfied and drift into a contented sleep. Making love was not an absolute necessity for us; kissing was sometimes enough to make the both of us feel loved and cherished.

And these days, all I felt was loved and cherished.

Since returning from our trip, Edward's subtle glances and gestures became more pronounced, and I felt the love he had for me pouring out of every pore of him. Even just a simple thing like pulling out a chair for me or sweeping some lock of hair off of my shoulder had more meaning behind it, since he'd emphasize it with a gorgeous smile or a kiss on my temple.

My blush still crept up from time to time, but our trip to Port Angeles seemed to have cured my excessive blushing almost entirely. I mean, what did I have to blush about? Edward had seen every inch of me and loved me all the more for it, scarred skin and all.

We also went on actual dates--a trip to the movies, a drive up to Sequim, mini-putting, and even had a few more porch picnics when we were feeling a bit nostalgic of the early days of our courtship.

We were absolutely and completely dating, in every sense of the word.

It was liberating. I hadn't had a nightmare about my life before Edward for months, even though I was still reminded of _him_ from time to time.

Despite not being haunted by James' presence in my imaginings at every turn, Edward and I still thought my healing process would benefit greatly from going into therapy, or at the very least joining a support group for abused women at the Forks Abuse center every Friday evening. As I couldn't afford therapy and I declined any and all offers Edward made to pay for the sessions, I settled for joining the free support group. I attended the meetings religiously for four straight weeks.

Each week, though, my spirits took a nosedive after attending. The women in the group shared their horrifying stories, and I grew to realize that my situation was far from uncommon. In comparison to most, I had been extremely lucky. All I had received was a few broken bones, a miscarriage, and forced intercourse. Some of these women were still trying to escape their boyfriends or husbands, and had children who had suffered abuse at their hands. One woman in particular had the entire group in tears as she recounted her story. Her husband was a drunk who hit her nearly every night, and when she was too incapacitated to receive any more abuse from him, he'd turn on their five year old daughter, Sarah. This continued until he beat her so badly that she received a concussion and never awoke the morning after. This poor woman, she said her name was Diane, finally left her husband after they buried their daughter, and had been staying at the shelter in town ever since.

I had lost my unborn baby, a child I had never had the chance to know, but that experience could in no way compare to how Diane must have felt after losing her only daughter. We each had our own grief, but hers had to have been more devastating. Diane had carried Sarah, raised her, formed a bond with her, begun to see a bright future ahead for her little girl, only to have her selfish, son of a bitch husband take away that little girl's life. Diane recounted to the group how she fell into an even greater depression within the week of her daughter's death. She had never had very high self-esteem to begin with, especially after her husband had his way with her, but her daughter gave her something to live for, to survive for. Once she died, Diane began considering suicide as a means to escape her husband. Thankfully, she saw an ad for the shelter in town, and instead of slitting her wrists, she packed a bag and left. Her husband hadn't come looking for her _yet. _We all hoped that that day would never come, that he'd forget about her and allow her to live her life in peace.

I recounted my own story, leaving out the part about faking my death to escape my abuser. I told the group that the miscarriage was the final act that made me leave him for good. One of the group members commented that she thought I was very well-adjusted for someone who'd been through all of that. The other women and the facilitator of the group agreed. I felt a bit ashamed of myself when I told them that I had Edward, Esme, and Carlisle to help me through. While Esme and Carlisle had been instrumental in getting me to safety out of the state, Edward's love had helped me move past the torment and begin to live again. The amazing support system that I had in place was not common among the group of women. Because of it, I felt even more out of place and awkward being there, when I realized my case wasn't nearly as bad as others' were.

I attended a few more sessions, but knew that there were other women in the town that would benefit from attending these sessions more than I would. Besides, I had my own personal therapist waiting for me on Cedar Glen Gate.

The night that I returned from what I had decided would be my last session with the support group, I found Edward standing on my porch, bright smile on his face despite the chilly breeze sweeping through.

I locked my Bunny up and walked swiftly up the driveway towards Edward. As I walked, I pulled my keys out and hurried to find the right one to let us in the house. Regardless of being outside in the cold, Edward seemed undisturbed by it, and wrapped his arms around me in a tight hug. His lips grazed mine, then my forehead.

"Hi, baby," he breathed as I tried--and failed--to open the door behind him, since he continued to kiss me, even as I fiddled with the lock. Distraction seemed to be his forté...

"Hi," I smiled, giving up with the door momentarily, due to Edward's enthusiasm. "I love you, but let's get inside, huh? It's cold!" He relented as I finally pulled the right key out from the few I had on the keychain and successfully unlocked the door. I pulled Edward inside with me and removed my coat and hanging it up in the closet.

Instantly, Edward's strong arms circled my waist behind me and he resumed his assault on my neck, moving my hair out of his line of kisses. His lips were so soft and warm against my chilled skin that I moaned quietly from the contact.

"I missed you, love," he whispered into my ear, turning me to face him. "How did your support group go?"

I sighed. "Alright."

"Just 'alright'? Anything you want to talk about?" he asked, mildly concerned. He never pried, and never showed that he was overly worried, which was nice. He knew that if and when I was ready to talk to him about something, I would do it in my own time.

"Well," I began, "I don't really know if I should continue going."

"What do you mean?" he asked, releasing my waist, but taking one of my hands in his and pulling me gently to the living room. We sat on the sofa, face to face.

"I felt a bit out of place there. Those women, they've been through so much, and I feel...strange...recounting my story, knowing that it isn't as bad as theirs. Does that make any sense?"

Edward's face revealed his confusion. "Bella, your situation may have been different than these other ladies', but you should never be ashamed of your past, or feeling the way you do about it. If you need someone to talk to, seek out that person, whether it's a counsellor, your parents, my parents, or me. Don't feel guilty that you survived while others are still going through their own abusive relationships. You need to focus on your own healing." Edward paused, breathing deeply for a moment before continuing. "Besides, love, you nearly _died _at the hands of that _animal_," he spat out, a brief glimmer of rage surfacing before his voice and expression returned to normal. "You have every right to feel however you feel. He controlled you for the better part of two years. Don't let him control your emotions, too."

I nodded slowly, letting his words sink in. He was absolutely right, but it didn't change how out of place I had felt that night, so I told Edward exactly that.

"It's completely up to you, sweetheart. If you feel uncomfortable there, and would rather talk to someone else, then you should stop going. Remember, you are in control of your life from now on," Edward said passionately, gripping my hands tightly as if to emphasize his words. "_You_ call the shots. It's _your_ life. Never let _anyone_ talk you out of anything you want to do."

His words struck a chord with me. He was, once again, absolutely right. It _was _my life. I could use mismatched bed linens, keep the kitchen cupboards in complete disarray, eat Kraft Dinner every night, and see whomever I wanted without asking anyone's permission but my own. Most of those things, I had already been doing consistently, and the sense of complete freedom that came from doing them was incredible. It was as if I had been caged up my entire life and then someone decided to open the cage to let me experience the joy of flying.

I had been flying ever since I moved to Forks. I was well adapted to flying now, thanks to Carlisle, Esme, and Edward. I now lived my life day to day like any normal person would; I would wake up, take a shower, eat a quick breakfast, and go to work. After work, I still had errands to run, groceries to buy, bills to pay, and a house to maintain, like any other person would. Every so often, though, the reality hit me, and I realized that, a year ago, I was in a much different environment and situation, in which I was in danger in my own home, with nowhere to turn and no place to hide.

"Bella," Edward called, pulling me out of my thoughts. I looked up at his face to see that he was worried. He reached up and wiped away tears that I had no idea were falling down my cheeks with his thumb. I had begun to cry, but they weren't tears of sadness; they were tears of joy. I smiled through the remaining tears and shook my head lightly.

"I'm just thinking how incredibly lucky I've been. I'm so grateful that I've been given this chance to start over, so that I _can be _in control of my life. I will never be able to thank your parents enough for all that they did for me." All my tears dried up, I turned to rest my head against Edward's shoulder. He pulled me closer to him and put an arm around my shoulders, rubbing my arm softly.

He kissed my hair before saying, "Me, too. They saved you from _him_, and brought you into my life, albeit unintentionally. I thought I was grateful for them before, but now I can thank them for introducing me to the love of my life."

I gasped, and he chuckled in response.

"What, you didn't know?" he mused, sitting up a bit straighter. He released my shoulders and stroked my cheek again, making the butterflies flutter in my stomach.

"I have never in all my 27 years felt this way about anyone. I've had girlfriends, sure, but what I felt for them can't even be considered to be in the same vicinity as my love for you." Edward swept a stray lock of hair behind my ear and gazed at me with a look full of what I could only describe as adoration, which made me sigh. "Everything I know about you, I love, and I look forward to learning everything else there is to know about you."

At those final exquisite words, I leaned toward him and silenced him with my lips pressed against his. In response, I felt him shift beside me and wrap one arm around my waist while his fingertips caressed my cheek gently. In that moment, I forgot everything we were even talking about before. His kisses left me so breathless that I almost forgot my own name. The kisses became heated, and I found myself trying to touch every part of his chest with my hands. My neck received the most attention from his lips until I whimpered and he happily brought his attentions back to my lips. Meanwhile, his hands roamed over my hips and pulled me closer. Without warning, I was suddenly pulled on top of Edward, who was smirking like he had just won a contest of wits. With my hands on either side of his head, I leaned down and resumed kissing him. Most of my weight rested on Edward's frame, but it didn't seem to bother him at all. In fact, I was certain that he enjoyed this position we were in because his erection was insistently poking me from beneath. I knew that this sofa was not the greatest place to proceed with our activities, so I rose and stood before him, with my hand extended before me.

"Let's go upstairs," I suggested quietly. He nodded and took my hand.

Once we arrived at my bedroom, Edward shut the door with a gentle 'click' and turned. He took my face in his hands and pressed his forehead to mine briefly.

"Bella, I love you," Edward said simply, gazing at me. "I want to show you how much."

I could only nod, suddenly speechless at the reverence in his voice. He walked me back toward the bed and we laid down together, never breaking contact with one another.

Slowly, as we continued kissing and touching, our clothing was shed, piece by piece, until the floor was covered and we were wearing only small smiles, reserved only for each other. We scurried under the covers, since the house was still a bit cold, and Edward lay on his side facing me, putting his hand on my hip. Silently, he pushed me to lay flat on my back as he crawled on top of me, the covers precariously hitched over the curve of his gorgeous ass. Keeping his full weight off of me, he leaned down and pressed heated kisses on my neck, then moved to my chest and lavished my breasts with attention, licking and sucking my nipples with growing appetite. I buried my hands in his hair and pulled minutely, causing Edward to groan in pleasure.

"God," he mumbled into my chest as he released one nipple and concentrated on the other.

"I'm ready for you. Take me, please. Make love to me," I begged, watching Edward's head sway slowly as his lips enjoyed their position on my breasts. He looked up at me and kissed me sweetly before he rose and kneeled between my bent legs. Our bodies aligned then, and, as he continued to kiss me, he entered me in one fluid motion. I gasped into his mouth as we became one, and I was pretty sure he made a similar noise at that moment, too. He held me and rested his head on my shoulder as he thrust into me slowly and deeply. Each stroke was deliberate, unhurried, yet forceful in its passion.

In his way, he was telling me that I was worth taking his time, that he wanted me with every cell in his body, and that we were free to take our time and enjoy each other tonight and any other night.

We were free. _I _was free to love Edward.

Our slow and patient lovemaking reached its pinnacle when Edward begged me to come. I didn't always reach orgasm during sex, especially when James had been busy taking what he wanted from my body, but it had surprised me when I climaxed nearly every time Edward and I made love. His skilled and loving touches sparked my desire brighter than anyone had before, even James before he became an abuser. Tonight was no different; under his proficient thrusts, I found myself moaning Edward's name like a prayer, followed by a few 'I love you's' as I rode my orgasm to its wonderful, relaxing end. Moments later, Edward groaned and buried himself deeper with a few long strokes, finding his own release with a sigh.

Once we came down from our highs, we cuddled in bed together, Edward's arm draped over my hip as he spooned behind me. "So, I take it you're discontinuing your attendance to the support group, then, right?" Edward asked with a lazy drawl as his fingertips drew misshapen circles on my stomach.

"Yeah, I have the best kind of therapy lying in this bed with me," I replied, turning to face my love. "In fact, you are the best therapist _ever! _I smiled as I scooted as close as possible to Edward that I could get.

"I'm glad that I can come in handy once in a while," he joked, wrapping me up in an embrace that we stayed in throughout most of the night. He peered down and gazed at me with a smile. "I love you, Bella."

"Love you, too, baby," I answered before yawning.

"Let's get some rest, sweetheart." Edward's yawn followed. We then settled into our comfortable embrace. Edward and I were relaxed in each other's arms, knowing that the next day, we both had no obligations, no work, and absolutely nothing to make us leave my bed except for maybe our hunger, thirst, or need to use the bathroom.

* * *

The weekend that followed, Esme and I talked on the phone. We tried to talk a few times a week. She would fill me in on life in Boston, and I would fill her in on my full blown romance with her eldest son. If I had doubted it before, hearing Esme squeal in delight over the phone proved to me that Alice was most definitely her daughter. They were enthusiastic about life, and it was quite refreshing to know people like that. I told Esme about our trip to Port Angeles, and how incredible the weekend was, for the most part, anyway. I even felt comfortable enough with her to tell her that Edward and I had been intimate, and she was overjoyed to know that we had progressed to that next stage in our relationship.

"Oh, I'm so happy for you two, Bella. He absolutely adores you. We saw it every time he looked at you." I could hear the beam in her voice.

"I absolutely adore him, too. I can't remember when I've been happier. I would have never guessed that I'd get to be this happy, after everything that's happened."

"Bella, you deserve happiness, and I'm positive that Edward is the perfect man to help provide that happiness to you."

"Mmhmm," I agreed. I glanced up at the clock and realized I hadn't eaten since breakfast. I perched the phone between my shoulder and cheek and walked over to the kitchen to make myself a bowl of cereal.

"What are you doing, dear?" Esme asked, no doubt hearing the tinkling of the spoon and the cereal flakes hitting the bowl.

"I'm about to eat some cereal."

"Just that? It's past lunch time, Bella," Esme scolded lightly, sounding exactly like the parent she was. I smiled.

"I know, but I can't seem to keep anything down lately. Cereal seems to be the only thing that I can eat without throwing up right afterward. I think I caught something from one of my students. He's been sick for almost a whole month," I lamented.

"Oh," Esme replied, sounding worried. "Well, you'd better go get that checked out, dear. You won't be of any use to your students if you're sick."

I nodded, which was unnecessary since I was on the phone. "I know. If I'm still sick in a week, I'm going to the walk-in clinic and getting checked out."

"Good idea, Bella."

I started crunching my cereal, trying to avoid making too much noise directly into my cell phone, but obviously failing because Esme chuckled.

"Hungry?" she asked pleasantly.

"Just a bit," I joked. "This is the first meal I've had since lunch yesterday. Like I said, nothing is staying in my stomach long enough for me to gain any sustenance from it!" I whined, inciting another giggle from Esme.

"Oh, I'm sorry I'm laughing," she sighed. "It reminds me of when I was pregnant with Emmett, actually. Everything I ate came right out for the first three months. I was as miserable as you sound right now."

"Ha. You know, if I could get pregnant, it would be a fine reason for this misery, but seeing as how I probably can't, it has to be something else."

"What do you mean, dear?"

"The doctor treating me after the miscarriage told James that it would be difficult for me to conceive again." It was a fact that I had reconciled myself with since then. Yes, it still hurt to know I'd probably never be a mother, but I had resigned myself to that fate and had moved on.

"That's strange. Having a miscarriage doesn't necessarily reduce your ability to conceive. Your doctor told you this?" Esme asked, sounding a bit sceptical.

"Well, James told me this before we left the hospital," I explained. "He was determined to try again, right away though, which is what led to him pushing me down the stairs. I tried to fight back." I was impressed with the way my voice came out when I retold my story to Esme. I didn't stutter, I didn't hesitate, and I certainly wasn't emotional. With the way I had said it so calmly, rationally, it was as if those things had happened to someone else.

Esme made a pensive noise. She began slowly. "Bella, after everything you've told me about him, I wouldn't put it past him to lie to you about something so incredibly important like whether you can become pregnant again or not."

Her words hit me slowly.

James could have lied about what the doctor did or didn't tell him.

After a moment of processing all that had transpired in my mind, Esme spoke again. "He's vindictive and hurtful, so perhaps he wanted to hurt you further by constructing this lie," she speculated quietly, carefully, as if tip toeing around the subject. "Now, this is just my guess, Bella, but I think that it would have given him a new sense of control over you if you had fallen pregnant again so quickly, even though the 'doctor' said you would have trouble conceiving." I breathed deeply and released it with a sigh.

Finally, I broke the silence. "That sounds like something my husband would do to assert his power over me," I said finally.

"Sweetheart," Esme began soothingly. Her voice was like an auditory hug to me as I pondered this new reality I was suddenly faced with. "Regardless of why you're feeling sick, you need to get checked out." She paused and sighed. "I'm so sorry that Carlisle and I are so far away. I would go with you to the doctor if you needed the support," she said apologetically.

"Thanks, Esme. I guess I should go to the doctor sooner than I was planning, huh?" My voice had suddenly gone from dreadful to monotonous, dull, and numb.

Could there be a chance that I was actually pregnant? The sheer idea was both terrifying and exhilarating at the same time. The terror came when I thought about what Edward's reaction might be, and the exhilaration came when my thoughts strayed to the actual possibility of having a son or daughter.

Would he or she inherit the same gorgeous green eyes that Edward had, and with them, the ability to make me melt and give in to anything he or she so desired? Or maybe would he or she have the distinctive reddish-brown hair instead?

"Get a home test first, dear," Esme suggested, snapping me out of my thoughts. "No use in going to the doctor unless you have a reason, right?"

"True. Well, I need groceries, so I'll pick one up at the pharmacy on the way home."

"Bella, remember, we are here for you. Whatever the outcome, it's for the best. Believe me. I should know, right?" Esme's voice was light, even though she was referring to her past terror and the unintended pregnancy.

"You're right, but what if I am, and Edward...I don't know...what if he's angry?"

Esme chuckled softly. "Dear, have you ever known my son to be angry before?"

"Only when he talks about James, to be honest."

"That's completely normal. Carlisle gets this fire in his eye, even twenty-eight years after Greg's arrest, when he's mentioned, like he wants to find him, wherever he is, and tear him limb from limb. I must say, it's incredibly sexy and scary at the same time." I heard the smile in her voice, and knew exactly how she felt.

"Mmmhmm, Edward must have inherited that look from Carlisle, then. That's how I'd describe it."

"Edward has always loved children. If it happens that you have morning sickness, I think Edward would be thrilled."

"Even this early in our relationship?" I pondered aloud.

"Don't underestimate Edward's love for you. It's real, and it's deep, regardless of how long you two have officially been together. Believe me. I know my son," Esme replied confidently.

I sighed. "Well, I guess I'd better bite the bullet and get that test. Thanks for listening, Esme."

"It's been a pleasure, as always, talking to you, dear. Remember, anytime you need to talk, we're here for you and Edward. I mean that."

I nodded. "I know. Thanks again."

We hung up, and I suddenly felt another wave of nausea roll over me, even though I had only eaten cereal.

As I finished heaving the contents of my stomach and wiping my mouth, I rested my forehead on the end of the toilet seat and began to cry. I felt drained and dizzy with all the different emotions I suddenly had building up in me.

On the one hand, the thought of being pregnant was exhilarating since I never thought I would be a parent. I had always loved children--hence my career as a teacher--and had wanted to have as many children as I was able to. Since I was an only child, I felt that I had always missed something in the way of a brother or sister to play with and relate to, and I knew I didn't want to subject my own children to that. Mom and dad struggled to have me, and couldn't have any more children, so they were thankful for me and spoiled me thoroughly.

On the other hand, I felt so incredibly gullible and stupid for not being on any birth control or insisting that Edward wear a condom. I was more worried about Edward's reaction because I had told him, the day we returned home from Port Angeles, that I would have great difficulty conceiving again--exactly the words James had used when he told me that. I was so worried that he'd think I had tricked him or that I had willingly allowed myself to become pregnant to ensnare him like a common gold-digger would.

His perception of me would be tainted, and I was pretty sure his trust in me would also be shot. What kind of life would this hypothetical child have, with his or her parents unable communicate or trust one another? Well, trust wouldn't be an issue on my side, but I couldn't say the same for Edward...

I raised myself up off the bathroom floor and flushed the toilet once more for good measure. The distinctive smell of vomit seemed to be permanently wafting into my nostrils, which almost upset my stomach again. Before I could get sick again, I hopped into the shower and tried to rid my nose of that smell, at least until my stomach decided to revolt again.

Once I stepped out of the shower, I tied my still-wet hair up into a sleek ponytail and got dressed to go grocery shopping and grab the test that could potentially change my life forever.

My seemingly uncomplicated existence in Forks was quickly becoming pretty complicated.

* * *

After having purchased my necessities from the grocery store and packing them into my little car, I drove over to the pharmacy to pick up the pregnancy test.

I found one package that had two tests in it. With unsteady hands, I lifted the box and read the instructions and the disclaimers along the side. The box claimed the tests to be 99.97% accurate, which then made me think that the second test in the box was superfluous. I shook my head with a sigh and went to pay for the box of pregnancy tests.

After paying for my purchase, I walked out of the pharmacy and was about to get to my car when I saw a one-hour photo shop, a type of shop that I suspected would soon be going the way of the dinosaur very quickly, what with the digital camera age absolutely taking over. Everyone, even Esme, had a digital camera. The thought occurred to me then that I had the memory card from Esme's digital camera in my small purse. It had been tucked away in my wallet ever since Edward had given it to me for safe keeping. As if I had any doubt of its location, I stopped walking and took my wallet out to find it. I held the tiny little memory card in my hand between my thumb and forefinger, eyeing it. Since I didn't have a computer, and I kept forgetting to bring it over to Edward's, I still hadn't seen how the pictures had turned out.

I walked into the store, the door announcing my presence with a beeping noise. The clerk was already busy with a customer, discussing digital cameras on the display. I glanced over and saw a yellow kiosk by the wall that printed pictures from digital media like CDs, jump drives, and the like. It was easy to work, so I slipped the memory card still in my hand into the slot labelled 'memory card' and viewed the pictures on it.

There were some really sweet pictures that I instantly thought would look great in a few rooms in my house. My mind became filled with images of my home finally having that homey touch that I felt it was lacking because I had no personal pictures up. A few here and there would only make my home feel more like my home, not like some impersonal catalogue picture.

It only took me about five minutes to pop the memory card in, select the pictures I wanted, and print them out. It cost me about a dollar fifty to print out 5 pictures. When they printed, I realized that I had accidentally made two copies of the same picture--one of me on Edward's lap in my kitchen. What would I do with two copies of the same picture? Then it occurred to me that Carlisle and Esme would probably not be expecting anything from us. I knew what I would do then; I would mail Carlisle and Esme this exact picture, as a small token of my appreciation for the two weeks they spent with us and the rest of the family.

A few minutes later, I was standing at the small post office on Main Street, addressing an envelope to Carlisle Cullen, care of the Massachusetts General Hospital, and slipping the four by six photo of Edward and I into it. I chose not to write anything on the back of the photo, but opted to write a short letter on paper that the clerk at the post office gave me.

_Carlisle & Esme, we developed a few pictures, and thought that you'd like just one of the two of us. We thought you might want to put in your home office. We love you, and miss you. _

I had no problem signing it from the two of us, since I was certain that Edward would want to send his love as well.

I sealed the envelope and handed it to the post office clerk. As the envelope slipped from my hand to his, I felt a chill crawl down my spine, like some supernatural sense of foreboding. I trembled momentarily with the chill and looked up at the clerk with a bashful smile.

I returned to my car and made my way home, planning to drink as much water as I could stomach in order to take those tests.


	19. Inevitabilities

_**I'm not Stephenie Meyer. This story is written for entertainment, not profit...don't sue me. Pretty please?**_

Enjoy, and remember, this is a work of fiction, so I invite you to suspend your disbelief with me, just for a little while...

Thanks again to Meghan for her beta work with me! :)

On with the show, kids!

* * *

_Mid-November - Forks, WA_

I sat on the sofa in the living room, staring blankly at the two lines that seemed to blink up at me like laser beams on the stick on in my hand.

Pregnant.

Two lines meant that I was pregnant. I had done both tests just to make sure I wasn't going crazy. No chance of that, however, since I had read the instructions on the box...twice.

I was pregnant. I had been having morning sickness, not some strange stomach flu going around at school. I was probably about four weeks along, which meant that we most likely conceived in Port Angeles.

I wanted to smile about this news, but I couldn't because I had no idea how Edward would react to it. He was finishing his residency, and we had _just _started dating. How the _hell w_ould it look like to him? It would look as if I tricked him and got pregnant on purpose, which was absolutely not the case. Esme had told me to trust him, and our love, and that he'd be supportive and overjoyed that I was pregnant, so I hoped to God that she was right about her son's reaction to this.

I continued staring at the stick in my hand until I heard Edward's signature three-knock at the door. I felt my chest constrict. How would I explain the pregnancy tests on my coffee table? I couldn't tell him yet about the pregnancy; I had to come to terms with it myself first, and steel my nerves before telling Edward.

I took a deep, hopefully cleansing breath, and stood up; dropping the sticks in the coffee table's drawer and shutting it abruptly before hearing Edward knock again. I knew I must have looked dishevelled and anxious, so I tried to calm my breathing and smooth out my hair briefly before opening the door. I got to the door and opened it.

"Hi, you alright? You look like you just ran to the door," Edward commented as he looked me over.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I lied not as smoothly as I stood in the doorway, holding the door partially open. "I was in the kitchen when you knocked. What's up?" I asked, trying to speed up the conversation. I wasn't yet done thinking about what to tell him about the pregnancy, and I needed that time to figure things out.

His eyebrows scrunched together, and then relaxed. "Well, I got off early and thought you might like to spend the afternoon together and watch a movie later."

"Uh," I began, trying to piece together a good enough excuse for staying in tonight alone. "Well, I have a ton of assignments that need marking, and I haven't started yet. Plus, I'm still feeling under the weather. Monday, I am for sure going to call in sick and go to the walk-in clinic in town." It wasn't a lie at all, but it still made me feel bad for not wanting to spend time with him. Besides, I knew I wasn't being entirely convincing...

Edward's expression softened and he leaned forward on the door frame. "Well, I can always keep you company tonight while you work, make you dinner, bring it over."

"I wouldn't want to trouble you, Edward," I replied quietly. He cocked his head to the side and looked confused.

"Sweetheart, you're never any trouble. I love spending time with you, regardless of what we're doing. Even being in the same room while we both work is fine with me. You know that," he admonished gently, stroking my cheek with the pads of his fingers.

"I know. It's just that I have so much to do tonight, and I feel like crap still. I would just rather finish it all off tonight, get some sleep, and tomorrow we can spend the entire day together." I internally crossed my fingers that he'd buy it. He looked at me with a mixture of concern and scepticism. At length, he complied, nodding.

"Alright, Bella. I can bring over something for you to eat if you feel up to it a little later, ok?"

"I haven't eaten anything yet today for fear of throwing it up right after. Maybe I'll have something tonight." I hadn't really answered him as to whether he could drop food off for me or not, and he caught on.

"Sweetheart, are you sure you're just feeling sick? There's nothing else going on?" His persistence would wear me down and I was already having a difficult time turning down quality time with Edward. I needed to end the conversation now before I agreed to anything that came out of his mouth.

"I'm just not really myself today. Once I finish all my work and get a good night's sleep, I should feel much better. Really." I smiled, but I was sure the smile didn't work on him. He knew me so well.

"Alright," he sighed, almost in a defeated way. "I won't push you. Call me later tonight if you're up for something to eat." He leaned over and kissed my lips chastely before kissing my forehead, giving me one more concerned look and walking back across the street to his house.

As I closed the door, I instantly felt horrible for lying to Edward. I needed this time alone to begin to sort through my feelings regarding the pregnancy. Well, not necessarily my feelings about the pregnancy; I already knew that I was ecstatic about it. That was a given. The question was if Edward would share in my joy? In my heart of hearts, I suspected he would, but I couldn't be sure.

The only way to be absolutely sure, beyond a shadow of a doubt, was to tell him, plain and simple. I had never been one to drag things out and delay the inevitable. He needed to know. For better or worse, he was going to be a father, and he needed to know what his options were. As much as it hurt me to even think it, if we were going to be at odds because of this, it would be better to end things sooner, rather than later.

I turned and grabbed my book bag, which contained all those assignments I had yet to grade. I plopped the bag down on the coffee table in the living room and sat on the sofa where I did most of my grading. I determined that I would finish my work despite all the craziness happening in my life at the moment, and call Edward to come over after I was done to tell him.

I stole a glance at the clock once I finished grading the final writing assignment. I had finally finished marking all my students' assignments by around six o'clock, and realized that I was starting to get a bit hungry. Edward had offered to make me something to eat, and I was ready to take him up on his offer.

I picked up my cell phone and was about to call him when I realized how silly it would look for me to be calling my boyfriend, when we had the luxury of living across the street from each other. There really was no substitute for face to face interaction. Technology couldn't replace the way my heart fluttered when I saw Edward or heard his soothing voice in my ear.

Decided, I put on my coat and locked up the house. I walked briskly across the street, trying to shield myself-and my little one-from the cold breeze sweeping down the street, and rapped on the door. Within a few seconds, I was greeted with Edward's gorgeous smile bathing me in warmth.

"Hi, sweetheart," he said, ushering me into the house immediately and closing the door behind me. "I was expecting a phone call. Not that I mind the alternative." He grinned slyly at me.

"Yeah, I just finished grading everything, and decided to see if your offer of dinner and a movie still stands."

Relief passed over his face as he gazed at me and nodded. "Of course, love. Always. I was just about to get started."

He helped me take off my coat and hung it up. He then put his arm over my shoulders and kissed my hair. "I was worried about you before," he said as he led me to the kitchen. "You weren't yourself."

"I know, I wasn't. But I'm better now. I should be fine once I get a good meal in me," I smirked as I wrapped my arm around his waist and hugged him to me tightly.

Who knew whether this would be the last time I was able to hug him without him being repulsed by his 'baby mama'?

Thoughts of potential animosity and hatred flung in my direction made me cringe, but I repressed them as I watched him begin cooking dinner. He had decided to make a pot of chicken noodle soup in an attempt to soothe my stomach, and grilled chicken with penne pasta, so I volunteered to stir the pasta while he got the rest of the ingredients together for the pasta sauce. Of course, being the thoughtful man he was, he was making the sauce to serve on the side, not on the entire pot of pasta, in case I wasn't up for a creamy sauce over all my food.

God, I loved this man.

As we stood side by side, finishing dinner, I said a silent prayer that his love for me would remain just as strong as mine was for him by the time the night was over.

I ate as much as I could, which was a serving of the delectable soup, and a plate full of the chicken and pasta-with just a bit of the Alfredo sauce Edward made over it all. I found myself enjoying the meal so much, but I didn't want to press my luck. All the while during the meal, I couldn't help but be a bit pensive. Those doubts crept up again and again as I ate. We talked briefly about how work had been for Edward that day, but no real conversation continued since I couldn't think of anything to add.

After the meal, Edward suggested that I take a seat in the living room while he loaded the dishes into the dishwasher and tidied up the kitchen, noting that I still looked a little under the weather. I agreed, and went into the living room to relax.

But I couldn't.

I knew that, once he returned to my side, I'd have to bite the proverbial bullet and tell him everything, regardless of the anxiety that I felt about the situation. He needed to know, and now was the best time to tell him.

"Babe," Edward called from the kitchen. "Want to pick out a movie for us to watch?"

"Sure," I called back, standing to peruse his DVD collection. I looked for a minute before seeing _Knocked Up. _I couldn't help but smirk at myself. My fellow Canadian, Seth Rogen was sending me a sign. Had it been any other night - a night where I wasn't planning on letting Edward know that he had, in fact knocked _me _up - I would have quickly suggested we watch it, but I didn't think I could bear watching something that was so close to our real life situation just yet...

My eyes scanned the shelf again and I saw _The Princess Bride, _which was one of my all-time favourite movies. I pulled it off the shelf and held it as I continued to scan the titles; I would give him a choice of three movies to choose from. I found _Face Off _and _The Usual Suspects_, and pulled those two off the shelf as well and sat down to wait for him.

Edward finally finished tidying up, and I could hear the soft hum of the dishwasher working in the kitchen. He walked toward me, drying his hands on his pants as he reached me. He sat down and took a look at the movies I had chosen that were sitting on the coffee table.

"So, what are we watching?" he asked, looking at the DVD covers.

I was sitting on the sofa in the living room with my hands placed neatly in my lap. I was sure my face showed a mixture of worry and relief, if that was even possible.

When I didn't reply, he looked up at me and took one of my hands in his.

"What's the matter?"

I took a deep breath before beginning. "I have to tell you something," I said quietly. I braced myself for Edward's apprehension, considering that what I had just said carried with it the same connotations as 'we have to talk', which was never a good start for any conversation.

I looked up and there it was; he was nervous and concerned, but it wasn't taking over his features. Yet.

"What is it?" he asked, still holding my hand.

I opened my mouth, but no sound came. I tried again, and what came out was, "I don't know how to say it."

He smirked. "Love, usually the best way to say things is to just spit them out. Is it really that bad?"

"I don't think so, but you may."

He instinctively cupped my cheek and kissed my lips softly. He knew I loved it when he touched my face, since his touch instantly soothed me.

"I'll be the judge of that."

I breathed in deeply again and closed my eyes tightly, preparing to say the words that would change our lives forever. I opened them and looked down at my hands, too afraid to look Edward in the eye while I relayed the news to him.

"Well, before, when you came by, I wasn't myself."

He grinned lightly. "We've already established that, sweetie," he joked. I smiled back, thankful for the brief lift in the mood.

"I know why I wasn't myself, Edward."

He leaned forward, as if he were urging me to 'spit it out'. So I did as I continued to look down at my hands.

"I'm pregnant."

I stole a glance at him. He sat completely still, probably letting the implications of the words I just uttered sink in.

"What?"

"I'm sorry, I'm preg-"

"Baby, I heard you. I just can't believe it. Are you sure?" he remarked, sounding like the initial shock was wearing off.

I nodded. "I took two home pregnancy tests, just to be sure. I'm so sorry, Edward, it's all my fault." I felt tears forming quickly in my eyes as I took responsibility for the pregnancy. I looked back up at Edward, who was frowning.

"This is...this is incredible," he said simply, the frown he wore moments before disappearing and a smile taking its place. The smile eased my worry momentarily, but I was about ready to panic over his reaction. He enveloped my face in both of his hands and kissed me passionately for a moment before throwing his arms around my shoulders excitedly.

He was humming with happiness, which made all the tension from the initial conversation melt from my body.

"Are you happy about this?" I said incredulously into his neck as he held me tightly to him. He pulled back to look into my eyes. His were swimming with wonder and joy.

"The question is, love, are you?"

I answered him silently with the tears that threatened to spill out of my eyes then. I grinned back at him.

"I never thought I would be a mother after..." I couldn't even complete my thought before I fought a sob down.

"Sweetheart," he said quietly. "That was nearly a year ago. He is all the way in Boston, and you're here, safe, with me," he soothed, rubbing my back slowly.

"I know. It's just all so incredible," I continued. "And even though I'm ecstatic about this baby, I can't help but feel foolish."

"What? Why, love? This is a blessing," Edward murmured soothingly.

"I know, but I just assumed it would be harder to conceive after the miscarriage. I mean, I was told as much when I was admitted. I should have still taken the necessary precautions with you our first time together." I felt absolutely shameful when my mind raced to what he might be thinking.

"Right, but what about me? I'm a doctor, and I didn't insist on wearing a condom or anything, either. If you're a fool, I'm a bigger fool for not taking the necessary precautions, too," he replied.

"But we just got together. We're still learning about each other and how to make this relationship work, and now we'll have to do that with a baby on the way," I added. In response, Edward closed his eyes tightly and took a deep breath. When he opened his eyes again, he gazed at me and smiled.

"I'll admit, the timing isn't the greatest, but I am a firm believer that everything in this world happens for a reason. Obviously, we were meant to be parents, and it is supposed to happen now, at this juncture in our lives."

I had never really pegged him as a fatalist before, but it seemed as if he and I shared one more thing in common. At the back of my mind, a tiny little voice had always been whispering to me that this was how it was supposed to be, but I constantly tried to shut it up because I was still terrified that Edward would be angry about the baby.

But the smile plastered on his face told me that he was anything but angry.

"So, you're happy about this?" I asked again cautiously.

"I am, love. Unbelievably so," he said, pulling me toward him in a hug. I couldn't help it then; fresh tears of relief flowed down my cheeks and I hiccupped a bit. "I can't wait to see when you start showing, Bella." I recognized the sound of emotion in his voice, which just made me cry more. "Sweetie, don't cry, please. This is a happy time," he commented happily as he rubbed my back again soothingly. He pulled back from the embrace and took my face in both his hands.

"You're happy, too, right?" he asked, staring intently into my eyes for the unspoken answer.

"Now that I know you are, yes," I breathed, nodding.

"You thought I would freak out? That I wouldn't want this baby?" Edward looked almost shocked and a little hurt.

"I thought you'd think I got pregnant on purpose, that I was a gold-digger wanting to trap you into a life with me. After all, Rosalie thought that of me when she first met me."

He straightened his posture before he spoke. "Listen to me. I would never think of you as a gold-digger, especially after knowing the lengths you've gone through to start a new life here. I would also never think you got pregnant on purpose. I'd like to think that I know you better than that, love." Edward put his arm around me once again and leaned back on the sofa, pulling me with him in the same relaxed pose. He rested his chin atop my head and rubbed my arm slowly, silently, almost lulling me into a light sleeping state.

I felt myself beginning to drift into a contented sleep just before a strong urge to expel my dinner passed over me. I bolted up and made a dash to the bathroom, leaving a concerned Edward watching me run.

After a few minutes, my stomach was empty yet again. I splashed some cold water on my flushed face and patted it dry with one of Edward's fluffy towels. Edward was waiting for me outside the bathroom door with the same worried look on his face.

"You alright?"

I nodded with a rueful smile. "One of the many joys of pregnancy."

He matched my smile and laughed lightly. "So I guess we can definitely rule out the flu, huh?" He pulled me toward him and kissed my forehead.

"Yup. Although, this will make one of my students incredibly sad."

Edward looked confused. "Why's that?"

I giggled. "He's been bragging to his classmates that his flu was so super strong that even Miss Swan was sick!"

* * *

_Boston, MA_

**CARLISLE POV**

"Esme?" I called as I entered our home and locked the door behind me. The smell of roasted potatoes and beef assailed my nostrils, and I happily took it all in with a smile. "It smells wonderful, darling," I added, taking off my coat and hanging it up.

"Thank you, dear," Esme called back from some unknown place in the house. It wasn't that the house was overly large, but my wife's sweet voice tended to carry pretty far.

I stepped through the house, glancing briefly into the parlour and the living room before reaching the den and finding my lovely wife sitting at the mahogany desk, pouring over a pile of strewn papers and our opened laptop computer.

"What are you doing?" I asked curiously. My eyes caught a few brief words upon the laptop screen and upon the papers as I rounded the corner of the desk and stood beside Esme. The words_ Grandchild _and_ Trust Fund _were the first things I saw there.

She looked up at me and smiled brightly, warmly. "Preparing for the future."

I frowned, confused. "Whatever do you mean, Esme?" Instead of answering, she motioned for me to come closer and take a look at the website that was active. The heading repeated the words I saw upon the papers.

Still genuinely confused, I pulled up a chair and sat beside her. I took the first few pages upon the desk and studied them briefly. I could feel Esme's inquisitive eyes still on me, no doubt watching my reaction. I read the information in my hands. Each sheet was a print off from a different financial institution offering to assist with the creation of trust funds for one's grandchildren.

I remembered that, when we were in Forks, Rosalie and Emmett mentioned that they were going to start trying to have a child. Had they already succeeded? Were Rosalie and Emmett already expecting?

"Do you know something that I don't know?" I asked with a smirk. Esme returned my smirk with an additional wink.

"I actually don't know for sure yet, but I just wanted to be prepared if they tell us some good news."

"Well, it's a great idea to start looking into setting up a small trust fund for our first grandchild, regardless of when he or she arrives."

She nodded, clicking upon a link that brought up another page that suggested dollar figures and what they would amount to after interest was calculated. "I know we haven't discussed this very thoroughly, but I've been looking into this. We don't have to put away very much. Just enough that would grow over time in their trust fund. I know each of our children looks forward to having their own children someday, so I think we should keep the amount that we gift the same for each of them."

I put my arm around my wife and pulled her closer towards me and kissed her temple. "Esme, you're incredible. I love you, and the way you think. It seems as though you've thought of everything." She chuckled in response.

"Well, I try," she joked. "I just don't want our grandkids, or our kids for that matter, to think we favour one over the other."

"And you're right," I replied with a nod. "I don't want Alice or Edward's children to feel that they are any less loved and cherished by us than Emmett's."

Esme cleared her throat almost nervously at that moment, which made me look at her curiously. "What is it, dear?"

She shifted toward me and gazed at me with a grin. "I think you're under a misconception. It isn't Rosalie who may be expecting."

My first thought was Alice.

"Alice? Oh, Alice," I whispered sadly. "Not that I don't like Jasper. He's a good man, but she's our baby girl and -"

Esme held up her hand to stop any further words from leaving my mouth. "Darling, it isn't Alice, either. It's Bella. She hasn't been feeling well, and she reminded me of me when I was pregnant. I told her as much, and she said she's missed a period, and that she'd take a pregnancy test to be sure."

I was absolutely floored. She and Edward hadn't been together long at this point, so I had just assumed that they were taking the necessary precautions. If it were true, how would Edward react? How was Bella taking the news, if she was indeed pregnant?

"Wow," was all I could manage.

"Yeah," Esme replied simply. "So you see, I don't know for certain yet, but I think that it is a strong possibility. Either way, I wanted to begin preparing for the inevitable-whether it's for the arrival of Edward's, Emmett's, or Alice's child."

Esme was absolutely right. One way or another, we'd eventually be grandparents. It was still an amazing thought to me; our children were all grown, and now Esme and I were awaiting the day we'd get that phone call to tell us we'd be having a new addition to the Cullen clan nine months after.

_Where had the time gone? _It felt like just yesterday that I proposed to Esme, knowing full well that she was carrying that bastard's baby, and wanting to do everything in my power to see to it that she and her child were given everything their hearts desired. But, in reality, it had been over 26 years since that day-the day she turned me down the first time. When she finally agreed to marry me, she turned my life upside down, and I saw everything clearly. Since then, every time I looked at Esme, I felt as if it were the first time. My heart would beat rapidly, my palms became sweaty, and I always marvelled at the beauty before me with so much love in her eyes that it nearly overwhelmed me. Twenty five years with the same incredible woman, and she still managed to awe me with the amount of love in her heart for me, our family, and Bella.

I hugged my beloved Esme tighter to me and let my eyes scan the screen before me. "Well, my darling, while we wait to find out if our son will be a father, let's see if we can make sure our first grandchild will be able to afford college."

* * *

_A week and a half later_...

It had been an uneventful commute to the hospital this morning. Fridays tended to be slightly less congested on the roads, so I arrived to work fifteen minutes earlier than most days. I walked into my office and smiled at my secretary, Gianna, who appeared to be cleaning something off the floor under her desk with a paper towel. "Good morning, Gianna," I called. I set my briefcase down by her desk.

"Morning, Dr. Cullen," she replied, looking up at me with a bashful smile as she motioned with her head the spill she was mopping up. "Sorry, I spilled my coffee like five minutes ago. You might not want to put your briefcase there. It's sticky," she explained, pointing to where the spill had extended on the floor. I took her advice and grabbed my briefcase once again with an understanding smile. Straightening up and tossing the soiled paper towel in the garbage beside the desk, she shook her head and smirked. "That's better. Anyway, here's your mail for the day, Dr. Cullen," she said as she handed a small pile of mail to me. I took it from her and smiled warmly. She could be a bit of a flake at times, but she was a good person, and the best secretary I had ever had.

"Thanks, Gianna." I walked into my office and closed the door quietly.

I flipped through the assortment of long manila envelopes from associates, different doctors and the like quickly, barely glancing at the return addresses until I saw a small envelope mixed in with the rest. My address was hand-written, and there was no return address. Curiously, I dropped the rest of the envelopes back on my desk and reached for my letter opener. A folded piece of paper and a photo slipped from the envelope.

I picked up the photo and beamed instantly at the visages that looked up at me from the photo; my eldest son, Edward, and Bella, wrapped up in a typical embrace. It was definitely one of the photos Esme insisted upon taking while we were visiting Forks in September. I recognized the kitchen behind them, and smiled at the memory of our two weeks with our family.

I read the short note that was enclosed and my smile grew. Bella had easily become like one of my daughters, and I was sure that Esme felt exactly the same way about her that I did. In all honesty, I had thought of her like a daughter from the moment she accepted my help, and I saw the devastation and then hope in her eyes as I explained the plan we would go on to use to set her free from her husband. After getting to know her, I came to realize that her thoughtfulness and compassion knew no bounds. She proved herself to be strong and resilient in the face of all that she's had to overcome over the last year. For that, I found myself in awe of her. She had gone through something that may have absolutely broken someone else, but she survived, she was living a normal life, and had found true love in my son.

As if my love and admiration of her wasn't already to the top, I had a very strong feeling that she would become a permanent fixture in Edward's life from here on out, especially if she was now pregnant. We hadn't yet gotten confirmation from Forks, but Esme seemed convinced that the announcement would be coming soon. She called it _women's intuition_, but I knew that it was her sixth sense about her children. Bella was so deep in our hearts that her sixth sense extended to Bella, too.

While I wanted to call Bella and scold her on the sheer danger she had put herself in just by developing a recent photo of herself, let alone sending it to us here, I just couldn't bring myself to feel irritated by it. After all, I now owned a photo of my son and his girlfriend, smiling blissfully, as a constant reminder of our wonderful trip back home to Forks.

We always had great visits with the kids, but the last trip tugged at our hearts more than in previous visits. Because of that, Esme and I had even begun discussing the distant possibility of moving back to Forks to be closer to the kids. We had been in Boston for a few years, thinking that we could just come and visit and our craving to see them would be sated, but we were fooling ourselves. Esme was all for moving back to Washington, as was I, but I was still under contract with the hospital for another year. I could always negotiate it down to less time, but the idea was still in its hypothetical stages. We would continue to talk about it, but would not decide anything without discussing the move with the kids.

I placed the photo on my desk. I then ripped the letter in numerous pieces and discarded it in the waste bin, so as not to have any evidence of Bella's words. The picture was quite sufficient, and I would have to make sure it went straight home with me that evening. I was sure that Esme would love to put it in the den.

That afternoon, I was swamped at the hospital, and completely forgot to bring the picture home with me. I reminded myself that I would have to bring it home with me the next day, but the next day was even more stressful and busy than the day that preceded it. So the picture remained in my office until the first day of December, when I finally put it in my briefcase to take home with me.

* * *

_Early December - Boston, MA_

**JAMES POV**

My meeting at the firm ran late, so I had to grab a late dinner.

Ever since Marie died, I'd been forced to eat take out nearly every day. I was starting to wish that I had learned how to cook from Marie when I had the chance. Her cooking was good, and this take out had begun to take its toll on me. But the kitchen was her realm, not mine.

Marie.

I never thought she would leave me so abruptly. I hated the fact that she died. It angered me every time I thought about her taking the coward's way out of our marriage and not being strong enough to endure the injuries she sustained whilst receiving her punishment.

She had been my property, mine to care for.

Why had she been so headstrong, so stubborn, so undisciplined?

Why couldn't she have just obeyed me without question? If she had, I wouldn't have had to push her down the stairs. In hindsight, I knew I should have just locked her in our room or punished her in another method, but my anger was out of control that day.

She had lost our child. Somehow, I just knew it. Through her own negligence, she had miscarried, and I would be damned if I had just let her get away with it.

She would still be here, and she'd probably already be carrying my child again. We would have tried again immediately afterward. She probably would have fallen pregnant shortly after the miscarriage, showing her how much power I had over her. After all, I had told her that the doctor warned that her chances of conceiving naturally were reduced when she lost the baby. She would have been happily surprised and relieved, and it would have strengthened my hold over her.

_Goddamn her. _

I wished that she had been stronger and not succumbed to her injuries. Then again, she had always been weak and in need of looking after, and I supposed that sooner or later, she would have disobeyed me or angered me enough to cause her own demise.

I certainly hadn't caused her death, though. Of that I was a hundred percent sure. I had killed before, but her death was not on my hands. That distinction rested upon her own clumsy, irresponsible shoulders.

I walked into the bistro across from Massachusetts General and requested a table for one. I was seated close to the bar at a small table covered in a heavy black tablecloth. I didn't even need to take a look at the menu; I had been there three times already that week, and ordered the filet mignon well-done with a baked potato each time. The waiter took my order and left me to my work. I had brought with me my laptop and needed to continue some research on a case I was working on.

I ate quietly, except for the murmured voices surrounding me in the restaurant. I hated silence, so it was a reasonable choice that I eat my meal at the restaurant, my ears buzzing with the atmospheric noise all around me.

When the waiter brought the bill, I gave him my black American Express card and began packing up to go to my new apartment.

After Marie died, I decided that my house in the suburbs was far too large for a widower. I sold it, getting more than my asking price, and packed up the belongings. Her clothes and jewellery were sold to the local pawn shop in town.

Everything else, I discarded.

Her parents demanded that they be allowed to keep some of her personal effects. To placate them, I shipped them a small box of the things that wouldn't fetch a price at the pawn shop, which amounted to a wide assortment of sentimental knick knacks that I had never allowed her to display in the house anyway. She had been lucky I had let her keep these useless things in the basement at all.

I found a condominium on the 41st floor two blocks from the law firm I worked for. It was quite expensive, but along with the money from the sale of the house and Marie's life insurance policies, I could easily afford to pay for it in full. After all, I still had my image to maintain. Being a widower didn't mean I'd automatically become a pauper, as well.

As the waiter returned with the bill, I happened to look up and see a familiar face entering the restaurant. The tall blond man wore what I could recognize was an expensive pinstriped suit and an overcoat. He held a briefcase and was ordering take out for two, it appeared.

At first, I couldn't place where I had met the man before.

Then I noticed that the bottom end of a stethoscope was sticking out of his briefcase.

He was a doctor.

He was Marie's doctor after her fall.

That was it exactly.

I signed the bill, leaving a minimal tip-I wasn't in the business of paying waiters for mediocre service-and left the table, walking towards the doctor.

When he saw me approaching, recognition appeared on his face.

"Hello, doctor," I began. I had forgotten his name...

"Good evening, Mr. Huntington. How are you?" he said, extending his hand. I took his hand and gripped it cordially.

I was surprised that he had remembered my surname without any apparent hesitation. He must have seen a thousand patients in any given week, yet he had remembered my name with ease. He must have had a fantastic memory...

"Fine, thank you."

I noticed his eyes trail down to my left hand, where my wedding ring still sat on the fourth finger. I saw something in his look as he eyed the wedding band; I recognized it as discomfort.

"It hasn't been easy without my wife, doctor," I explained almost in an annoyed tone, though I certainly didn't have to explain my actions to anyone. What I did with my wedding ring was my business. I wore it to remind me that I was still married, and that even though Marie had left me in body, she was still mine to remember.

He immediately flashed me an apologetic look.

"I completely understand, Mr. Huntington. Marie was a very special woman. Full of life and spirit," he smiled as he concluded his thought. He seemed as if he were recalling some distant pleasant memory about Marie.

Something didn't sit right with me. When had this doctor ever met Marie, other than the night she slipped into the coma? She certainly hadn't been in any shape to demonstrate how 'full of life and spirit' she was that night.

"Yes, well," I said absently, "You're right about that. She was definitely something."

Just then, the restaurant employee came up to the doctor and brought with him a nearly-translucent plastic bag with two large take-out containers inside. He excused himself and took the bag from the man with a polite grin. He then dug through his briefcase quickly to find his wallet and handed the boy a credit card. Once he signed the credit card slip, he took the bag in his hands by the handles and faced me again.

"Sorry, Mr. Huntington, but I should be getting this back home to my wife before it gets cold," he said, lowering his briefcase to the floor to free his hand. It extended once again in my direction. "Good to see you again."

"Yes, you too, doctor..." I trailed off, hoping he could offer me his name as I hadn't really cared much about it all those months ago when Marie died.

"Cullen, sir."

"I apologise," I said, remembering that, even though I was getting a strange feeling from him, professional courtesy would dictate that I should remember the doctor's name, since he was the one who informed me that Marie's brain function was non-existent.

He released my hand and waved off my apology.

"Not to worry, sir. It was a stressful time for everyone. It is understandable."

"Indeed. Well, I won't keep you. Have a pleasant evening, Dr. Cullen," I said, making a mental note to never forget that name again.

"You, too. Take care." He stooped slightly to pick up his briefcase and walked out of the restaurant.

I took a moment before following him out of the restaurant to ensure I had everything with me.

Patting my pockets, I took a look down and saw something on the ground where Dr. Cullen had rested his briefcase.

It was a white piece of paper. Upon closer inspection, I realized what I was looking at was the back of a photo that looked as if it had once been sitting in tea or coffee because there were slight brown spots around the edges. Curious, I bent down to pick up the paper from the ground to see what exactly Dr. Cullen had dropped.

The rage was instant.

Staring me back in the face was Marie's smiling visage; her hair was cut shorter and coloured darker, and her slender frame was wrapped up in the arms of an equally happy-looking man.

How was this possible? This looked like it was recent. Marie had been dead for more than eight months. It was simply impossible.

I flipped the photo over again and saw that the developing date was only a few weeks ago.

Who was this man in this picture? And how was it possible that Marie was alive? Her body had been cremated, and I had been given her ashes, for fuck sakes!

Unless...

Unless I had been lied to.

Unless she had gone to great lengths to fake her own death.

Unless she still lived, and was betraying our vows with this other man, who was blissfully unaware of the fact that she was someone's wife.

My mind was set instantly. I was going to confirm that she was still alive.

I was going to track her down, wherever she may be.

I was going to destroy this _other man_.

And then I was going to remind Marie exactly to whom she belonged...


	20. Christmas with the Cullens

_**I'm not Stephenie Meyer. This story is written for entertainment, not profit...don't sue me. Pretty please?**_

Enjoy, and remember, this is a work of fiction, so I invite you to suspend your disbelief with me, just for a little while...

I'm not Stephenie Meyer. This story is written for entertainment, not profit...don't sue me. Pretty please?

Thanks for your reviews! I'm so happy so many people like my story! I did receive one flame, but I'm still happy to read my reviews, so keep 'em coming! By the time you read this, I'll probably be in Las Vegas celebrating my one year anniversary with my husband, and my two best friends! Treasure Island, here I come!

_As always, thanks to Meghan for beta'ing_

* * *

_Early December, **James' POV**_

She was alive.

My wife, who I was told almost a year ago had lost brain function, was alive and well. Marie was somewhere out there; and as of a few weeks ago was smiling and happy.

The days after the discovery were spent destroying things in my condo in fits of rage that I couldn't even begin to describe. I broke mirrors, dinnerware, threw magazines and papers here and there. Simply put, I created chaos in my home. I created a mess of my home to mimic how I felt. My living room became the physical manifestation of my anger and rage. It was a representation of everything that I planned on doing to Marie when I found her and dragged her back with me to wherever I wanted to relocate to; we definitely couldn't return to Boston.

That was, if I decided to keep her around at all. After all she'd done to me, she deserved no less than to burn in hell at my hands. But maybe I wanted to keep her around to show her _exactly_ who she had fucked with. She should have known better than to try this shit with me.

How _dare _ she? How dare Marie even _consider _ doing this? Did I not warn her? Was I not clear enough just how much pull I had, that with a quick phone call, her world would be shattered, starting with her beloved parents in Toronto?

In my absolute rage, I almost picked up the phone and made that call. With one single action, I would have ordered her parents killed and had it covered up by a fire that wouldn't have looked suspicious at all. The one thing that stopped me was that I was almost positive that they had no idea she was still alive. At the memorial service I had graciously held for Marie, her parents reacted exactly how any parent would. Of course, they were initially furious with me because of my haste to have her cremated without leaving them enough time to hop a flight into town, but their fury wore off as they seemed to realize that Marie really was gone. Their presence wouldn't have brought Marie back to them, or me.

I had never seen Charlie that emotional, even on our wedding day. Even then, he was silently brooding, pensive, and Marie told me that he had been ready to snap at any moment, had I said anything to him. My ignorant father-in-law had always hated me, from the moment Marie told them that we were marrying. The feeling had been more than mutual, and even though I hated the fact that Marie was dead, I felt a sense of relief when I believed that I'd never have to deal with those Canadians again.

At the memorial, Charlie had had tears leaking every so often from his eyes, but he never said a word. He just stared ahead at the large 11" X 13" photo of Marie that I had framed, holding Renee's hand, and sitting bone straight in his chair. Renee was more vocal about her grief, sobbing openly and leaning her head upon her husband's shoulder when her strength escaped her.

When I thought back on it, logic told me that they couldn't have been in on their daughter's 'death', and at that moment, I spared their lives because of that detail.

Nothing would save them however, if they knew she still lived and were harbouring her. I made a mental note to look into her parents to make sure they didn't know something that would cost them their lives.

She was _mine_, and she had the audacity to somehow fake her own death, disregarding the consequences of her actions.

Where the _fuck_ would she have gone? Didn't she know that I would find her, one way or another?

After the shock of the situation set in and I had finished making a complete warzone of my condo, I took a deep, cleansing breath, and calmly pulled out my Mac, found an empty spot on the floor that was not occupied by debris, and began searching for her.

The first thing I began typing in the search engine was _Marie Huntington_, but I wasn't fooling myself into thinking that she'd use her full name when she was trying to elude me. Obviously, the only search results that came up were her obituary on the F.J Higgins' website, and a small article about her death on her school's website.

She had obviously thought ahead. What name would she have taken? I thought about everything I knew about my once-deceased wife, such as names she might have taken and places she mentioned she would have liked to visit. I spent over an hour doing random searches on my computer, cross-referencing names like Marie Evans-her maiden name-and Marie Roberts-her favourite actress' last name. It became apparent that it wouldn't be _that _ easy to find her. I would have to use other methods.

Logic told me to start with what I knew.

The picture had been on the floor next to Dr. Cullen, who just so happened to be the doctor that had signed her death certificate, who had 'pulled the plug' on my wife. I laughed humourlessly at that thought – it sounded ludicrous, knowing now that she was alive and well and referring to the plug being pulled on her.

I located Dr. Cullen's office number and took it down on a piece of paper I found lying haphazardly on the floor next to me. I then located my cell phone among the ruins of my living room and called my lowlife private investigator.

His raspy, smoke-ridden voice came on the phone. "Stinton."

"Murray, it's James Huntington."

"Well, well, James. Fuck, man, I thought you were dead or somethin'. Haven't heard from you for a while."

"Yes, it has been a long time."

"Well, enough with the chit-chat. What can I do you for?" he questioned, sounding as pleasant as he could. He knew I would pay him well for whatever I was calling for, and that my temper was unrivalled-staying on my good side was beneficial for him.

I cleared my throat and said, "I need you to find my wife."

* * *

**Bella POV**

My first Christmas in my own house across the street from Edward was upon us before we knew it. I hadn't even considered that I'd be almost as busy with the common Christmas dilemmas – last minute shopping and hectic visits – as I had been in Boston, or even Toronto, where my family seemed to be exceptionally popular this time of year. It wasn't until Edward and I were having dinner one evening, in early December, that the subject had even come up.

"We Cullens are kind of Christmas crazy. Mom and Dad can't make it this year, but every other year, we all make it our mission to get together on Christmas Eve and Christmas day, if not the rest of the holiday," he said with smile. "The whole family comes over to my house and we stay up all night Christmas Eve, talking about our childhood and about the year that's passed." His handsome face suddenly got intense as he put down his fork and stared up at me.

"What?" I asked, confused.

His smile returned. "Well, I just realized that this year, we'll have something else to talk about with the family."

I blinked, unsure of what he was referring to.

"The baby, love. I think Christmas is the perfect time to tell them that we're expecting. Don't you?" His look was excited and youthful, like a kid.

His words made me beam with happiness. _We're _expecting. I wasn't doing this alone.

I knew that Edward was happy. Ever since my big reveal, he'd been doting on me, overly concerned with my eating habits, always wanting to spend as much time with me as possible, which was never a bad thing in my opinion. Every time he spoke about the pregnancy, it made me consider just how lucky I was to have him in my life. He was embracing becoming a father better than I had ever even imagined he would. I knew with absolute certainty that he would be the best father to our child.

"Maybe. It would be a convenient time to tell them all at once, but I was thinking that maybe we could wait to tell them in a month or so, after I'm in my second trimester."

"You're superstitious, aren't you?" Edward questioned with a smirk, reaching across the table to take my hand in his.

"I guess I am. I don't want anything to come and ruin our happiness. Is it silly of me to think that way?"

"Honestly, sweetheart, if you don't feel comfortable sharing the news just yet, that's fine. I'll respect your decision. But by Christmas Eve, you'll be nearly two and a half months along. It would be perfectly acceptable to let everyone know two weeks early. No one's keeping track," he finished with a teasing chuckle as he smoothed the skin on the back of my hand with his fingertips.

I thought about it for a moment, and realized that he was right. It was an old wives' tale, after all. And this was his baby, too; if he wanted to share our wonderful news with his family then, who was I to deny him of the joy that was apparent just by his mentioning it?

At length, I nodded. "Ok. You're right. We'll tell them on Christmas Eve."

His smile grew wider, and he brought my hand to his lips and kissed it. "Awesome. I love you, you know that?"

"I have some idea." I kissed him lightly and snuggled into his side. He put a palm over my stomach and sighed.

"I love you, too, little one," he said quietly to my stomach.

I smiled at the gesture. Somehow, I had the feeling our baby already knew how much.

The weeks leading up to Christmas were filled with shopping, mainly with Alice, Edward's sister. She and I had never had that coffee date we had originally planned on in the summer when we first met, so we finally fixed that oversight by starting to see each other at least once a week for coffee. Well, I tried not to have coffee. I swayed toward hot chocolate instead. After a few coffee/hot chocolate dates, our friendship was pretty iron-clad. Despite the six year age gap between us, her spunk and enthusiasm for life was energizing to me. We didn't have much in common, but that just gave us more to talk about.

I quickly learned that she was an absolute nut about shopping and fashion, and once December hit, Alice insisted that our weekly coffee dates turn into shopping and dinner dates-at least for the month of December-so that we could get our shopping done.

After our first shopping date, we sat down at a small bistro and ordered a light meal.

"Well, that was fun, wasn't it?" Alice asked excitedly after the host sat us at a small table by the window. "I think I'm just about done Christmas shopping!"

I huffed playfully. "Let's hope, with all those bags in the car! Thank goodness you drive an SUV. We wouldn't have had enough space in my car for all those things..."

She waved her hand at me. "That's nothing. I went a little crazy last year, but I simply couldn't afford it this year. People's scrapbooks just aren't as fancy during a recession..."

"I'm sure everyone understands," I commented. "I mean, I've picked out a small present for everyone, but I don't think anyone was expecting me to get them anything at all. It's the thought that counts, right?"

Alice smiled at my sentiment and took a sip of her ice water. "Yup. Everyone will love what you got them, though. I should know; I've had more experience shopping for them than you. But don't worry, you'll learn what they like real quick."

"Oh?" I asked with a smirk.

"Yeah. You'll have plenty of time to perfect shopping for the Cullens. I have a feeling you're here to stay."

"Alice, let's not get ahead of ourselves. Things with Edward are fantastic, but we haven't been together very long."

Alice shook her head definitively. "That doesn't matter. I've never seen my brother look at anyone the way he looks at you. It's like he's ready to take a bullet for you at any moment or something. That's pretty intense, and permanent, if you ask me. It's a really, really great thing. You both deserve happiness."

I wanted to tell Alice at that moment just how permanently I'd be in their lives – I was carrying their neice or nephew – but held it in. It was _our _ surprise to the family, not just mine. It would crush Edward if Alice knew before everyone else. Alice was a bit of a big mouth when it came to juicy gossip. Esme suspected, but she wouldn't talk about it until she had confirmation of it. After we told the family on Christmas Eve, I'd call her and Carlisle soon afterward to let them in on the news, too. I knew it would make her so happy to hear about it, and about how Edward had reacted to it, too, knowing that I was so concerned with his potential anger over the pregnancy.

"What? What's with the sly smile?" Alice asked with an eyebrow raised in question. She was just as intuitive as her brother.

"I'm just happy, Alice," I replied, trying to explain why I had suddenly looked ecstatic. "Hearing you say that you think I'm going to be around your family indefinitely makes me happy."

"Well," she replied, unconvinced, but thankfully letting it go, "I just got this feeling when I met you in the store. I knew you were special, but I didn't know then in what way. Now I see you and Edward together, and it's like you two light up a room. It's contagious and I love it!"

At that moment, our waiter came by and asked if we wanted to take a look at the drink menu. Alice shook her head but nodded toward me. "Bella, you should have a Bellini. I've heard they're fantastic."

"No, that's alright, I'll stick with my Sprite, thanks." I would have loved to have one, since the last time I had had a Bellini was in Boston. However, since they were made with alcohol, I needed to steer clear of them until I had the baby.

"You sure?" Alice asked. "They're really, really good."

I smirked again. "Uh, how would you know, missy? Aren't you underage?" I had to keep reminding myself that the legal drinking age in the States was 21, not 19 like back in Ontario.

"Not anymore. My birthday was back in June," she replied proudly, puffing out her chest. The waiter laughed lightly at our banter and handed me the menu, but I gave it right back to him apologetically.

"Really, no, I'm good with my pop."

Alice and the waiter both chuckled when I said _pop_. "Sorry. I mean _soda_."

"Don't mind her; she's Canadian," Alice joked, winking at me. The waiter smiled, took our order and said, "I'll be right back with your drinks, eh?" before he left, annoying me. As he walked away, I shook my head and muttered under my breath, "very original."

"Sorry," Alice said, sensing my annoyance with the comment.

"It's fine, it's just irritating sometimes. Honestly, have I said _eh _ in the twenty minutes we've been sitting here?" My voice rose as I asked Alice the slightly – rhetorical question. I felt a bit foolish getting all heated over something everyone on the planet thought we Canadians said on a sentence-per-sentence basis, but I blamed it on my elevated hormones. Obviously, I had been living in the states for more than five years, and it hadn't bothered me that much, otherwise I would have moved back home.

Hopefully, Alice wouldn't think much of my outburst.

"Not once since I've known you, now that I think about it," Alice replied thoughtfully.

"It's a stupid stereotype perpetuated by-" I was cut off when I heard a man's voice call out.

"Marie!"

I felt my body begin to shake at the very mention of that name, the name I was born with, but that was now associated with fear and terror.

"Marie, I know you're here!" the man's voice called again. My hands gripped the side of my chair.

James had found me, I was sure of it.

It was the end of me, of my baby, of my perfect, idyllic existence in Forks. Alice watched me during my panic attack curiously, unsure of what to do to help me. I released the chair and wrapped my arms around my stomach protectively, subconsciously.

There was nothing she could do. He'd found me. There was no help for me.

Just then, I heard an adorable giggle coming from somewhere around our table. Alice and I ducked around, trying to find the source of the laugh, and found a small girl, maybe three years old, with short, straight blond hair and a baby blue bow in her hair. She looked up at us and waved.

"Marie! There you are!" The man came towards our table where the little girl was standing, watching us. He scooped up the girl and hugged her to him. "Daddy was so worried! How did you get in here, Marie?"

I let out a breath and sunk into my chair, trying to relax again after that terrifying episode.

The man looked at Alice and I and frowned apologetically. "I'm sorry to have intruded on your dinner. My daughter likes playing hide and seek."

Alice shook her head and smiled sweetly. "It's no trouble at all. She's beautiful."

"Thank you. Say bye-bye, Marie," the man angled the little girl in his arms so that we could see her sweet little face. She waved at us and she and her father left.

"You ok, Bella?" Alice asked sympathetically. "You looked like you were almost hyperventilating there."

"Yeah, it's just hearing that name that causes me to freak out." I took a sip of the water on the table and took another deep breath, trying to get my breathing under control.

"It was my name for the first twenty-six years of my life, but I can't imagine ever answering to it again."

Alice nodded knowingly. "And you don't ever need to again. Your life is here now. And you're Bella, not Marie."

I was finally getting a grip on my breathing, taking controlled breaths in and out, in and out, when our _sodas_ arrived. We thanked the waiter, who was still smirking at me like a smart-alec, and got back to our conversation, albeit with slight awkwardness.

"Anyway, like I said, Bella, you and Edward are a sure thing, at least in my books. This Christmas will cinch that, I think. Jasper and I will come over early to help you guys. That's our tradition. Emmett and Rosalie always come by early to help out, too, but both Emmett and Rosalie couldn't get the day off, so they'll be joining us around 5 or 6, and staying overnight like Jazz and I do. I assume you'll be staying the night, too..." she concluded with a hopeful glint in her eye, as if my confirming that her brother and I sleep together would make her day. Reluctantly, I nodded with a roll of my eyes and a playful smile.

"Yes, I guess in that case, I'll be spending the night."

She beamed and clapped her hands once, her enthusiasm finally showing me just how young she really was. It was really sweet, actually. "Awesome! This is going to be the best Christmas ever!"

Edward's childhood home, which had been exclusively his since his parents had sold it to him for practically nothing, had been decorated from top to bottom in Christmas fare. He hadn't been kidding when he said that the Cullens were Christmas crazed. The eaves troughs had multicoloured lights hanging from them, and the front lawn was adorned with a large air-blown Santa Claus sitting in a sled. The gorgeous Christmas tree that Edward and Emmett had gone together to pick out sat in the main foyer, decorated elegantly with garland of red and gold, glass balls, and gold tinsel here and there. Atop the tree, there was a beautiful gold star shining brightly. There were eight particular glass ornaments scattered throughout the tree. When I took a closer look, I noticed that each one had the name of one of the Cullens on them with years on them. I asked Edward about it, and he said the years represented when each member joined the Cullen family. I found that incredibly warm and touching to see that even Jasper had his own ornament, despite the fact that he wasn't _technically _ part of the family yet; he wasn't married into the family, though I'm sure it was only a matter of time.

There was a sense of Christmas in each room of the house. In the kitchen, we ate off of Christmas-inspired dishes. In the living room, we wrapped ourselves in Christmas blankets and laid our heads on matching pillows when watching a DVD. In the bathroom, we dried our hands on towels with poinsettias on them. Nothing was tacky or tasteless, just happy, elegant, and jovial. Thankfully, Edward assured me that he didn't own, nor had he ever owned, a hand-knitted reindeer sweater or a Santa Claus suit. I breathed a sigh of relief at that.

Even Bolt, Edward's husky, had his own doggy antlers that Edward would lovingly place atop his head. He didn't fidget too much with them on either. Overall, Bolt was pretty well-behaved when it came to the Christmas decorations; I had heard horror stories of people's pets destroying tinsel, toppling Christmas trees, and eating ornaments, but Bolt loved all those things almost as much as Edward's family did and just sat and stared at them with wonder.

Christmas Eve, the skies parted and lightly dusted the streets and houses with snow, which made the Canadian side of me jump with happiness. In Toronto, it never felt like Christmas until it snowed, even to my friends growing up. We all waited and waited until the first snowfall, and then once it came, we suddenly began singing those Christmas pop songs everyone plays on the radio, and started our Christmas shopping, even a month early.

Thankfully, my morning sickness had begun to dwindle down to maybe one trip to the toilet a day. Because of this, I was able to offer my help to Edward and his family in preparing the Christmas Eve meal, which was supposed to be 'epic', according to Alice. I vowed then to help in any way I could to make it _epic._

Edward had worked overnight in order to get Christmas Eve and Christmas morning off. Naturally, he'd have to work Christmas night, but he was happy to be getting the evening before off to celebrate our first Christmas together.

After I made my way over to Edward's house around lunch time, he and I set out to begin this epic dinner, using Esme's recipes as a guide, and adding a few of my own touches, too.

Alice and Jasper came over a few hours later to help with dinner as promised, each of them toting a small overnight bag in one hand. They took four trips to the car to bring all the Christmas gifts for the family and place them under Edward's tree alongside the wrapped gifts he and I had already placed there.

All four of us set to work on our Christmas dinner, moving as a pretty good team chopping, peeling, stirring, and mincing. All the while, Bolt watched us, or ate from his Frosty the Snowman bowl, or lay on his bed in the kitchen. When the meal was well on its way to being done, the men excused themselves and went to the garage-taking Bolt with them-to inspect Jasper's early Christmas present to himself: a brand new black Mustang. This left Alice and me in the kitchen, setting the table and putting the finishing touches on dinner. After that, I set out to make my layered pudding dish that I use to make when I was a kid. Using vanilla pudding, Cool Whip, and chocolate wafers, I instructed Alice to make the pudding while I got the appropriate bowl and other ingredients out of the fridge.

"Bella, can I ask you something?" Alice asked, breaking the companionable silence in which we were working. I looked up at her and tilted my head.

"Sure."

She looked slightly flushed. She put down the spoon she had been using to stir the pudding and grew serious.

"How are you feeling?"

"Um, I'm good," I answered, slightly embarrassed by the question. "How are you?"

She giggled uncomfortably. "I'm good, but what I mean is, _how _ are you feeling? Have you been feeling sick lately? Any weakness?"

I blinked, unsure of where she was going with this line of questioning.

"Bella," she restarted, cursing briefly under her breath. "I'll just come out and ask it. Are you pregnant?"

I gasped at her question, shocked that she would be so intuitive and perceptive. She must have taken my gasp as one of outrage, because she began apologizing profusely, embarrassedly looking everywhere around the room but my eyes.

"I'm sorry, I don't mean to be so bold! I just saw all the signs and figured that we were good enough friends for me to ask you without feeling like I've overstepped my boundaries, but now I see I'm wrong. I'm so sorry for assuming-"

I was smiling by the time her eyes rose from their position inspecting the floor.

"I _am _ assuming incorrectly, right? I, uh, that is to say that, uh," she stuttered. I shook my head.

"We were planning on telling everyone this evening after dinner," I murmured, watching Alice's reaction carefully. After my words set in, her eyes widened and her smile reappeared. "You can't tell anyone." I grabbed her hands in mine and squeezed lightly to show I was serious, though my smile never faded. "Please promise me," I whispered urgently to her. "It would kill Edward to know that I let it slip before we told everyone."

Alice blinked once, twice, three times, then pulled her hands out from my grasp and wrapped me in a joyful, sisterly hug.

"Oh my God! I knew it! I can't believe it! I'm so happy for you guys!" she squealed in delight, pulling me with her as she began jumping up and down happily.

"Shh!" I cautioned half-heartedly, slowing down the jump. "We don't want the surprise to be ruined. _Please_, Alice. Promise me?"

She stopped jumping completely and suddenly became serious. "Sorry, Bella. Of course I promise. I can't wait until you tell everyone, though. They'll all be thrilled."

"Who'll be thrilled?" Jasper asked as he and Edward walked into the kitchen. Alice smiled and replied, "You guys will be, with your presents. I just know it. Plus, I gave Bella some helpful tips about what to get you two. You'll be pleasantly surprised for sure," she giggled as she walked over to her boyfriend and kissed him lightly on the lips. Edward walked to my side and wrapped an arm around my waist in an inconspicuous way to rub my still-flat tummy.

"You've already given me the greatest gift I could ever hope for, love," he whispered into my ear as his thumb glided over my stomach in a circle. His breath tickled my neck in the most delicious way that I sighed. "I don't need anything else in this world, except maybe one thing."

"Oh, yeah? What's that?" I asked playfully. Before he could answer, the doorbell rang four times in quick succession.

Edward, Alice, and Jasper said, "Emmett" at the same time, making me laugh. Edward kissed my cheek, said, "I'll go get that", and went to answer the door to his brother and sister-in-law.

Two hours later, the six of us were thoroughly sated and full from our meal of mashed potatoes, mixed vegetables, baby-back ribs, chicken pot pie, and wild rice risotto.

"Damn, guys, you outdid yourselves this year," Emmett said, patting his belly comfortably.

"Yeah," Rosalie chimed in pleasantly. "Not that I didn't like the rest of the meal, but I especially liked the new addition of the risotto."

"That was all Bella," Alice relayed happily.

"It's a recipe my mom makes all the time," I said quietly, not wanting to draw too much attention to myself.

"It's really, really good, babe," Edward said, patting my knee under the table.

Alice looked over at me and laughed. "Did I not tell you this dinner would be epic?" I couldn't help but laugh, too.

"You did, indeed, Alice."

After a few moments, Emmett and Rosalie rose together and began collecting all the plates and taking them to the dishwasher. It seemed that they did their part by clearing the table and bringing out the deserts and coffee or tea for the rest of us. I thought it was a pretty fair trade, because after the meal, I was incredibly lethargic and sleepy, and would not have been able to help out with clearing the table at all. Instead, I sat at Edward's side, watching he and Jasper and Alice interact together. Jasper was going on about his car, excitedly explaining the deal he was able to get on the purchase price, while Alice watched him with adoring eyes. All the while, Jasper's hand never left Alice's as it rested on the table. Edward, I noticed, had moved his arm around my shoulder and stroked the skin there. Once I noticed, I shifted to get as close to Edward as I could, snuggling into his side subtly. He hummed lowly at the contact and winked at me.

Just then, Emmett and Rosalie entered the dining room carrying trays with two fruit platters, veggies and dip, and my Cool Whip pudding. Rosalie went back to get the coffee and the cups while Emmett set the platters and pudding before us on the table.

Edward then squeezed my shoulder lightly, getting my attention. "Do you think that maybe we can tell them now?" he asked in a voice barely louder than a whisper. "I can't wait any longer, love." The excitement in his voice made me smile. To be honest, I had been internally jumping with excitement ever since Alice had guessed our surprise.

I rubbed my stomach gently, thinking. "Sure, babe. Let's tell them."

"What are we discussing so secretively?" Emmett asked as he sat down and tucked his chair in, grabbing a plate and preparing to dig into one of the platters. Rosalie had just returned from the kitchen and had a few coffee cups in her hands.

"Well," Edward began, watching me. I nodded, giving him the ok to reveal the surprise to his family. "Bella and I have some news." I stole a glance over at Alice, who was already bouncing in her chair minutely and beaming, but trying to contain her happiness and failing miserably.

"Tell us. What's up, guys?" Jasper asked.

Edward smiled serenely, took my hand in his, and took a deep breath, glancing at his family at their various places around the table.

"Bella's pregnant!"

Two things happened at once. I heard an array of cheers and happy gasps, and I heard a coffee cup crash to the ground, shattering on the hardwood floor. We looked up to see that it was Rosalie who dropped the cup. We all looked up to see Rosalie's shocked face staring at me, her mouth agape, and her eyebrows raised in surprise. A moment later, she was bent cleaning up the pieces of the cup. Emmett went to help her with the mess, but she swatted him away angrily. She grabbed a few larger pieces and left the dining room, walking briskly. I knew that body language well; she was embarrassed, but moreover, she was mad.

"Sorry, guys," Emmett said, shrugging slowly. "I'll go talk to her." He moved to start walking to the kitchen. "Congratulations, guys. It's great, really." He smiled and went to his wife.

Suddenly, I felt horrible. Rosalie was upset because I was pregnant; there was no denying it. It couldn't have been a coincidence that we told them all I'm pregnant and at the same moment, she dropped a cup and angrily stormed out of the room. I remembered that she and Emmett had announced that they were trying to have a baby back in September, but there had been no news since then.

Edward was there to stop me from wallowing and over-thinking things. His hands over mine squeezed gently and he glanced over at me. The love and devotion in his eyes was unmistakable.

"Don't worry about her, love," he murmured.

"Yeah, this is great news! When are you due?" Alice asked, using her superior acting skills to fake knowing about it before this conversation. Apparently, it was working.

"I would think Mid-July sometime, but they won't know for sure until I go in for my first sonogram in a few weeks."

Emmett walked in at that moment wearing an apologetic look. "Sorry about that before, guys. Rose is a bit sensitive right now."

I immediately got up, nodded at Emmett, and moved toward the kitchen where I knew Rosalie was. Edward went to grab my hand to stop me, but I brushed his hand away.

"I need to talk to her. We'll be fine," I said as I left the dining room.

I found Rosalie sitting at the kitchen table, her eyes puffy and red, and a tissue balled up on the table before her. She heard me enter because she raised her eyes to me.

I cleared my throat before I said, "I'm sorry, Rose," and took the seat beside her, facing her completely. She sniffled and shook her head.

"It's not your fault. I'm the one who's taking your news horribly. Congratulations, by the way," she said quietly, giving me a weak, half-hearted smile. It was obvious that she was still upset, but maybe now it was just with herself instead of me.

"Thank you, but why are you so upset, if you don't mind me asking?" I probed gently, leaning in closer to her. She frowned and closed her eyes.

"We have been trying for way longer to have a baby than we told you guys. We've been trying since we've been married, but we haven't had any luck, and I'm starting to lose hope. Then you come along, date my brother-in-law for a few months, and voila," she waved her hands sarcastically toward me, "you're pregnant."

I sighed. This would be a horrible time to tell her that we weren't even trying to conceive...

"I'm sorry about that, Rosalie," I soothed, or at least tried. "I had no idea you've been trying for so long. But sometimes it doesn't happen right away."

"I know, and I know I'm being irrational. I still feel like shit about ruining your moment with the family." She looked up at me with tears resurfacing in her eyes, threatening to spill over. "I just want to be a mom so badly. I want to give Emmett a son or daughter, and it's just not happening." The tears fell then, and, despite our strained relationship in the past, I reached out to her slowly and enveloped her into a careful hug. She accepted the hug, and embraced me tighter. I could hear her still sniffling, but I could tell her tears had slowed.

"I'm sorry for being a bitch, Bella," she whispered into my shoulder. I had to chuckle at that.

"It's ok." After a moment, I pulled back to look at her. "It'll happen. After I lost my first baby, I thought I'd never get pregnant again. And here we are," I said with a smile. "It'll happen, Rose. Never lose hope. And if it doesn't happen, it doesn't mean that you can never have children." I watched her face, trying to see whether or not I should continue this line of conversation. She was far more relaxed and seemingly open to conversation than she had been a few minutes earlier. Still, I decided to tread carefully.

"There are options for you. That's all I'm saying." Thankfully, Rosalie nodded at my comment.

"I know. And if worse comes to worse, I'm sure that's what we'll look into," Rosalie said with a sigh. "I just want a little piece of Emmett and me running around, you know? I want that whole experience."

I couldn't fault her for that; I wanted the same thing, and was looking forward to seeing our son or daughter take on Edward's characteristics as the years passed.

"I know you do. It'll happen, Rosalie. Have faith," was all I could soothe her with, and it seemed to work, because she gave me a small smile and nodded, sniffling once more before reaching for the balled up tissue on the table and dabbing at her eyes carefully to not ruin her eye makeup.

"Thank you, Bella. I'll try." She cleared her throat and shook her head, as if to restart herself. "Alright, let's get back to the party," she said genuinely, smacking her knee and rising from her seat, appearing to be back to normal, but I could tell that she was still shaken up. I rose from my seat to meet her gaze.

"Are you sure you're ok?" I had to ask once more. I would hate to go out into the dining room, where the rest of the family was, with Rosalie still feeling upset. She shook her head lightly. I watched the sadness almost completely evaporate from her eyes and the Christmas spirit that was present during dinner return.

"Yeah, I'll be fine," she said, waving her hand at me. "Besides, we have to celebrate. Not only is it Christmas Eve, but I'm going to be an aunt." She smiled much brighter than I had seen her smile at me before, and motioned for me to walk with her. Together, we returned to the dining room. The four of them were having a conversation that stopped abruptly once we entered the room. Rosalie and I both smiled at them, as if to reassure them that everything was fine.

We began opening presents after midnight, like children. Edward wore a Santa Claus hat as he handed out presents to their recipients. After a few minutes, each of us had a small pile before us and a few of us were digging in happily, wrapping paper flying here and there.

"Ok, open this one first, Bella. It's from Esme and Carlisle." Edward handed me a small box wrapped in gold wrapping paper. I took the paper off slowly and opened the box to uncover a golden glass tree ornament. Confused, I looked more carefully, and then I gasped.

It was similar to those ornaments on Edward's tree with the names of the family on each one, except it was red with black and silver swirls on it. In the centre of the ornament, the words, 'Bella, 2009' were written in beautifully elegant script. I looked up at the family-they were all watching me open this present from Esme and Carlisle with wide eyes and big smiles.

"Read the card, Bella," someone said, though in my haze, I was unsure who it was. Automatically, I grabbed the card that was once taped to the top of the gift and read.

_Bella, Carlisle and I wish you a very merry Christmas, filled with all the joys of the season. We wish we could be there with you and the family, but know that we love you and miss you terribly. In lieu of our presence, we hope you like your gift. It is to commemorate your first year as Bella Swan, and your first year as a wonderful part of our family. All our love, Carlisle and Esme Cullen_

By the time I finished reading, I had tears in my eyes. "Wow," I said simply.

Edward was by my side, smiling so happily. I handed him the card and he read it quietly, nodding every so often.

"You're almost officially part of the family now," he chuckled, handing me the card once again and standing up. "Let's put this on the tree, shall we?" Alice jumped up and hugged me, while Rosalie, Emmett, and Jasper watched with big smiles, too.

Edward grasped the ornament and found a spot beside his own ornament on the tree, and hung it carefully. He took a few steps back to admire the ornaments and nodded. "Perfect. Right beside me." The rest of the family clapped and woo'ed as I wrapped my arms around Edward's midsection. He put an arm around me and kissed my temple. "This is where you belong, Bella. With us," he murmured quietly. "With me and our baby. I love you both, so much."

I hugged him tighter and smiled blissfully, wanting to convey the depth of my love to him with my touch. "I love you, too, Edward."

* * *

_**Chapter End Notes:**_

_**Up next, New Years' Eve, a doctor's appointment, and a bit more James... what are you thinking? Love it? Hate it?**_


	21. The News

I'm not Stephenie Meyer. This story is written for entertainment, not profit...don't sue me. Pretty please?

I'm using some real place and business names to add to the realism, but obviously I have no affiliation with any of them. Please suspend your disbelief with me while reading this story! :)

Thanks for your reviews!

As always, thanks to Meghan for beta'ing.

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**_December 28, Boston, MA_**

**_James' POV_**

"Dr. Cullen," he answered professionally.

"Hello Dr. Cullen, this is James Huntington. I am the widower of one of your patients. We saw each other at the restaurant a few weeks ago..." I trailed off purposely, awaiting his reply.

"Ah, yes, Mr. Huntington, what can I do for you?" He cleared his throat quietly. I could sense, even over the phone, that he was agitated. He tried to hide it, but not well enough for me.

My prowess in the courtroom came with the ability to read people's verbal and non-verbal cues, and they were right most of the time. I was confident in my instincts as they had never steered me wrong.

"I wanted to request that you send Marie's files regarding her accident to my new address. I've recently moved, and those files were misplaced, I'm afraid."

"Oh," Dr. Cullen replied, off his game apparently. "I'm afraid we don't keep records of that nature on file for very long. I can certainly have someone search for them. If they find them, they can courier them over to you."

"Good," I replied curtly. "See to that, Dr. Cullen. I will fax your office my new address."

"Very well, Mr. Huntington. If my assistant finds the records, I'll have her send them to your home address."

"Thank you, doctor. We'll be in touch." I hung up without waiting for a reply, knowing that those files on her accident could potentially lead to a dead end. If she had faked her death, she would have somehow gotten the good doctor to fabricate the death certificate, and with it, the cause of death.

Hell, he probably wouldn't even search for the records, or would claim that they weren't found. The files really didn't matter at this point. Murray Stinson, my PI, was searching for Marie using his own shady connections, and I was paying him exceptionally well for results. If Marie still lived-and I knew that she did-he'd find her and tell me exactly where she was hiding. I told him that I wanted to check out any and all leads he got personally. So far, since hiring him, he'd found nothing, but that didn't hinder my resolve. Stinson would find her, or give me enough information to find her myself.

That would be the best scenario.

To see her again, and show her just how much power I had over her, would be fitting.

She could run, and she could hide, but not forever.

No matter where in the world she was, I would find her and make her pay for this betrayal.

Stinson already had some of his men scoping out Marie's parents' house in Toronto and tapping the phone line. I knew she wouldn't be foolish enough to be hiding out with her parents, but she was close with them, so even if she was hiding out elsewhere, she wouldn't be able to stand being out of touch with them for very long. Tapping the phone line was probably the best bet in confirming that she was alive, and maybe even tracking her down.

Instead of working on a case file for work that should have been taking up all my time, I decided to go through my personal files at the office and seek out the funeral home at which she was supposedly cremated, to see if anyone there was forthcoming with some information. If they weren't, I was sure that I could convince someone to be. After all, I had a natural charm, and a way with a gun.

**_

* * *

_**

**_December 31, Forks, WA_**

**_BPOV_**

After a fun-filled Christmas, Edward and I prepared for our first New Year's Eve together. While the rest of the family had their own plans, we decided to go out for dinner and dancing in Port Angeles and spend the night at the same bed and breakfast we stayed at the weekend we conceived our baby: Colette's. Edward reasoned that by this time next year, we'd have our son or daughter with us, and we'd have to keep our New Year's Eve celebration low-key. I agreed completely and took Alice with me to find the right dress for our evening out.

Of course, she jumped at the chance to shop with me, and for me. Together, we found a sexy sleeveless royal blue dress that came up to just above my knees with a plunging V neckline. It was made of various layers of lacy material that had blue beads worked into it. It had some elasticity thankfully, and it clung to my still-slim body snugly. My tiny baby bump had begun to show, but the dress concealed it just enough.

As I slipped on my new dress for New Year's Eve dinner, I allowed my mind to wander to all that had happened over the last few weeks. Not only had Edward and I celebrated our first Christmas together, but his family had learned of the new addition and welcomed me into the family with open arms. The ornament with my name on it that Esme and Carlisle gave me sealed that deal. It felt unbelievable to be a part of their family. Just knowing that they accepted me and my past, and loved me despite it all gave me a warm feeling of belonging and joy I hadn't experienced in a very long time. Sure, my parents loved me, but I couldn't be calling them all the time, and our calls were short for safety purposes, although I thought Carlisle might have been a bit paranoid when he gave me those ground rules for calling Toronto.

I reminded myself that after New Years, I had to call them to tell them that they were going to be grandparents.

To complete my New Years look, I wore the earrings Edward gave me for Christmas. I recalled the moment I opened his present to me with a smile...

_"Open mine last, sweetheart." _

_Alice nodded happily. "Yeah, open ours next. Save Edward's for last," she suggested, handing over a rectangular box to me. It was covered in bright red wrapping paper and a gold bow adorned the top. I smiled and pulled the paper off the box. It was a brand new scrapbook with a red cover and a small place to put a photo. Inside the scrapbook, there were packs of stickers and readymade pages to put in the book. Beside the book in the box, there were four pairs of scissors with bevelled and wavy edges, a package of two sided tape, and a scrapbooking Exacto-type knife. I looked up at Alice and beamed. The items in the box probably could have cost her over $200, had she not been the owner of a scrapbooking store. _

_"Thank you so much, Alice. These are awesome," I said, dropping the box and its contents and pulling her into a hug. _

_"It's no problem at all. We were thinking that you could make a scrapbook of your year in Forks with us, but now I think I should exchange the scrapbook for you and get you one for the baby." _

_I smiled a watery smile at her and nodded. "Perfect idea, Alice. Thanks, you guys."_

_Rosalie turned to me then, giving me an envelope. She looked apologetic. "We didn't really know what you'd like, so we went with the next best thing." _

_I opened the envelope and found a Christmas card inside, wishing me the generic _Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. _Inside that was a gift card for $100 to the local Walmart. "Wow," I gasped. "This is great, actually."_

_"You sure? Rosie and I haven't really had a chance to get to know you well enough," he paused, thinking, "but I guess now you can use that for baby stuff..." Emmett trailed off, but I stopped him by raising a hand. _

_"Really, it's perfect. Who doesn't shop at Walmart? And their baby section is pretty vast," I laughed. "Thank you, both of you." I went to Emmett and hugged him. It was like hugging a big teddy bear. Rosalie was next, and when I hugged her, I had the feeling that we'd only grow closer from tonight onward. It was a relief, because getting the cold shoulder from Rosalie every time we got together was stressful since I had never done anything to her. Now, it was like she had finally moved past whatever unpleasant feelings she harboured for me, and we could try to rebuild our relationship. _

_"Last but not least," Edward called from behind me. I turned to him and saw that he was holding up a small box wrapped in red and green paper. I took the box from him and opened it wordlessly. The blue Tiffany & Co. box under the wrapping paper alerted me to the fact that Edward had spent an unnecessary amount of money, but I kept silent until I saw what awaited me inside that box. I gasped at what was there. _

_Staring me in the face was a set of drop earrings, roughly two inches long, with an angled heart at the end of each earring. Nestled in the top of each heart was a small diamond. The earrings sparkled brightly in the box, the lights from the Christmas tree reflecting in just the right spots. _

_"Edward," I began, still clutching the box in my hand, admiring the earrings, and probably grinning like a fool. _

_"You like them? They reminded me of you because they are beautiful and incredibly tasteful. Plus, they are a bit more practical for you than, say, the $7000 platinum set 1.2 carat earrings I saw."_

_"Let's see, Bella!" Rosalie called, snapping me out of my haze. I absently handed the box to Rosalie as I walked toward Edward and wrapped my arms around him. _

_"I love them. Thank you, Edward. They're gorgeous."_

_He buried his face in my hair and whispered, "Not as gorgeous as you, love," in my ear. "And you're welcome. I can't wait to see them on you."_

_"You can wear them to New Year's Eve!" Alice chirped excitedly as she fawned over the box in Rosalie's hand. _

_"Exactly," Edward agreed, brushing some hair behind my ear. "That's the occasion I was thinking of, actually."_

_"They'll look stunning with her dress, Edward. You'll see!" Alice added, beaming from ear to ear._

_"They will," I agreed, nodding. "Thank you again, Edward."_

_"You're more than welcome, Bella," he smiled, pressing a kiss upon my forehead as he wrapped me in his arms again. "Merry Christmas, Bella."_

_"Merry Christmas, Edward."_

I giggled at the memory, Edward's sweet voice filling my ears with as much love as they could possibly hold.

I gave myself a once over in the mirror, feeling rather pleased with my appearance. My hair was straight and sleek, the dress complemented my curves and those that weren't quite there yet, and my makeup was subtle but perfect.

I smoothed the material of the dress with my hands, letting both hands rest on my tiny bump. I was really pregnant; this was real. Edward and I were having a child, and we were even deeper in love than before. Esme had been right. And she told me as much when I called her to tell her the good news...

_"I do hope your Christmas with the family was enjoyable, dear," Esme said during the call. _

_"Oh, yes, it was, Esme. Thank you so much for the ornament. It made me cry," I replied. _

_"That wasn't necessarily the reaction Carlisle and I wanted," she laughed._

_"I know, but my hormones have been out of wack lately. I've been crying over the smallest things," I answered, setting myself up beautifully for my news._

_"Why? Oh, dear, are you..."_

_Esme took the bait. I giggled in response, causing her to gasp at the news. "You are! Oh my goodness! That's fantastic! Wait, how did Edward take it? I know you were concerned."_

_I sighed happily. "He's thrilled." _

_"I told you, Bella. I know my son. He's always loved children, and he loves you fiercely. It just made sense that he'd be ecstatic to be having a baby with you." _

_"Thank God that he was, Esme. I don't know what I would have done if he wasn't. I love him so much that the thought of losing him was too much to bear." _

_"Well, no need to worry about that, Bella. He's in it for the long haul." Esme paused and took a breath. "Goodness, I'm going to be a grandmother!" she exclaimed finally. The news must have only sunk in then. I chuckled heartily. _

_"Yep, you are. Are you happy?"_

_"Ha, I should be asking you that!"_

_I thought quickly before answering. I smiled to myself. "In all my life, I've never been happier, Esme."_

I heard Edward knocking on my door in his signature three-knock way, pulling me out of my memory and into the present. I stepped down the stairs and opened the door to find my handsome boyfriend looking even more handsome than ever. The first thing I noticed was what hung loosely around his neck; Alice had given him a dark grey striped scarf for Christmas, and it looked very sharp on him-it had to, for the money Alice dropped on it. He wore a black overcoat, and under it, I saw a royal blue tie peeking out contrasting over his crisp white dress shirt. _Alice must have purchased it for him to complement my dress. _His hair was, as usual, an organized-but-chaotic mess. It made me want to run my fingers through it at that very moment, but I didn't because I saw his eyes widen as he took in my outfit and inhaled sharply.

"You look amazing, love. And those earrings are perfect on you," he breathed, stepping past me and closing the door behind him. I was about to ask him why he was closing the door when he took me into his arms and pressed his lips to mine hungrily, moving me backwards against the now closed door.

His lips moved down my cheek and neck, making me moan, and I suddenly become very aware of the small thong Alice _insisted _I buy to go along with the outfit and how moist it was getting.

Edward always knew how to get me aroused. Just looking at him got me excited, but my neck and those delectable lips of his were a deadly combination for my libido. _Especially_ since I had become pregnant.

"Sweetie," I started after a minute, my rational side finally winning the battle against my hormonal side, reminding me that we had reservations we needed to get to. "We can get back to this...uh...later, after dinner, when we get to the bed and breakfast," I attempted, though his kisses continued.

"But you look good enough to eat," he murmured seductively into my neck before kissing it. "Are you sure we can't just order take out and stay in tonight?"

I giggled and put my hands on his chest, pushing gently. "Baby, you were the one to suggest dinner and dancing, and staying in our room at Colette's."

That seemed to snap him out of it, because he pulled back and looked up at the ceiling in frustration-sexual frustration. He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed.

"I know, I know, you're right."

"And our next New Year's Eve together, we'll be parents and he or she will come first before any big celebration we may have wanted to have otherwise," I added, kissing his cheek chastely. He looked repentant, but still highly aroused. I had to giggle again at his reaction. He nodded, smiling, and wrapped his strong arms around my waist.

"You're right, Bella," he agreed, leaning his forehead against mine. "I can't wait until he or she gets here," he whispered, looking down at my stomach. "Maybe it's just wishful thinking, but I could swear you're already showing."

"I am a little," I replied, rubbing my bump slowly.

"You're beautiful, my love. Every day that little one grows more, and you grow more beautiful." He pulled me against him and hugged me tightly, humming happily. I could still feel his erection through the material of his pants, but I knew it was on its way down after having reminded him about our dinner and hotel reservations.

I felt my cheeks burn with a blush. "Thank you." I turned in his arms and grabbed my coat that was hanging off the hook behind the door. "So we'll finish this later. This pregnant woman is hungry," I joked as he released me and helped me slip my coat on. He kissed me again firmly before opening the door.

"Ok, let's go celebrate."

We arrived in Port Angeles safely and with time to spare. We checked into our room at Colette's and left our overnight bags there before heading out to the restaurant for dinner.

Our dinner was fabulous, and the dinner entertainment was well-received by everyone at the restaurant. There was a four-piece band playing jazz-style music. Edward and I danced to a few classics as the singer crooned away, but there was one in particular that she sung that stuck out to me. The band had been playing an up-tempo set when the music changed and the unmistakable beginning of _At Last_ by Etta James was heard. Edward and I were already on the dance floor, so we just held on to each other tighter and swayed to the music. For the first time in a long while, I actually listened to the words of a love song as we held each other and danced. Edward took my hand in his and brought them up between us, resting them over his heart.

_At last,  
My love has come along,  
My lonely days are over,  
And life is like a song. _

_Oh, yeah, yeah, at last,  
The skies above are blue.  
My heart was wrapped up in clovers  
The night I looked at you._

_I found a dream that I could speak to,_  
_A dream that I can call my own_  
_I found a thrill to rest my cheek to,_  
_A thrill that I have never known._  
_Oh, yeah when you smiled, you smiled,_  
_Oh, and then the spell was cast_  
_And here we are in heaven,_  
_For you are mine_  
_At last_

It was amazing how much meaning I found in the song.

For the longest time, love songs made me cry. It wasn't because they were sweet, but because I had long since stopped believing in their words, and that reality made me incredibly sad. I had always been a romantic at heart. My parents' interaction with each other over the years made sure of that. They were still in love after twenty eight years of marriage. I grew up wanting to find a love like that, and I thought I had found that in James. After a few months with him, that dream died and so too did my romantic side. I thought I would never listen to a love song and feel the same as I had when I was a kid.

I was wrong.

_At Last _summed up everything I felt about Edward. I had been incredibly lucky the day I met him. Because of him, my skies were blue-bluer than they had ever been.

It must have touched Edward, too, because he began singing the lyrics in my ear softly. It was wordlessly understood that this was our song. All too quickly, the song was over. He brought my hand up to his lips and kissed it.

"I love you."

"Love you, too," I replied, taking his hand in mine and walking back to our table, where they were ready to serve coffee and desserts.

Before we knew it, the emcee was announcing the time, and all the attendants were invited to get up on the dance floor to count down to 2010 together. We made our way to the dance floor, hand in hand, and waited for the countdown to begin. Within a few minutes, the room filled with loud and happy voices, cheering as we counted together.

10...

9...

8...

7...

6...

5...

4...

3...

2...

1...

Edward turned to me before the room erupted in cheers and exclamations of _Happy New Year_ and pulled me toward him, cupping my face within his hands and crashing his lips to mine. I sighed as his tongue swept into my mouth and his grip on my face tightened ever so slightly. After a moment, he pulled away to take a deep breath and kissed my forehead.

"Happy New Year, Bella. I love you so much." He got down on one knee, put his arms around my waist, and kissed my stomach. Over the people around us singing _Auld Lang Syne_, I thought I heard Edward say 'daddy loves you, too, baby."

New Year's Eve was always emotional for me, and this year would be no different. For the last two years, New Year's Eve was the marker for another year of torture and hurt to begin, and it devastated me to no end. James and I would go to a high-end restaurant to pretend to be happy in front of his bosses and co-workers. I'd ring in the New Year with a fake smile plastered upon my face, praying he wouldn't notice how miserable I was on the inside. Once we got home, he'd insist on sex, though I was usually thoroughly exhausted.

This year, I had a good reason to be emotional. 2010 would be the first full year that I would live in Forks; it would be the year that our baby would be born. I felt tears in my eyes as I thought of these things briefly. Edward returned to his standing position and gazed at me with a smile that would have made me cry anyway. He wiped a stray tear from my cheek and took my hand again.

"No tears, sweetheart. This will be the best year yet. Just wait and see."

With the holidays officially over, it was business as usual a few days later. I had my first sonogram scheduled with my doctor, and I was a bundle of nerves at the idea of seeing the little being growing within me. We were able to schedule the appointment around Edward's own hospital schedule so that he could come with me.

The nurses were helpful as they told us which room to go into when my name was called. Together, Edward and I met the doctor, Janet Meinheim, and she told me to go to another room and await further instructions.

When we got into the room, I took a seat on the papered table while Edward sat to my right, glancing around the room curiously.

"I've been in the maternity ward before, but somehow, I feel like I should pay special attention to all the machines and procedures now. It's kind of important, right?" He smiled, taking my hand in his and kissing it gently.

"I guess so, but I'm sure Dr. Meinheim knows what she's doing," I commented.

"Oh, she does. I should know; I requested her specifically. She used to be a colleague of my dad's. He highly recommends her," he said, winking.

Just then, Dr. Meinheim entered the room holding a clipboard and a friendly smile. She was a middle-aged lady with subtle streaks of grey in her short light brown hair. "Hello again," she greeted, extending her hand for Edward and me to shake. "Ok, how are we today? Ready for your first sonogram, Isabella?"

"It's Bella, please," I requested as I shook her hand. "And yes, we're more than ready."

"Great. Now, let's get you laying down here," she patted a table covered in paper," and take a look at that little one in there. Go ahead and get comfortable."

Edward took my coat and purse from me and sat down again.

I laid myself down on the table as instructed. Once I became as comfortable as I was going to get, Dr. Meinheim motioned to the screen and the machinery attached to it to the right. She grabbed a mouse-like appliance and a bottle of clear gel.

"Alright, lift your shirt, sweetie. I need to squirt this on your tummy to help the machine get a good picture of the baby."

I complied and fidgeted slightly when I felt the cold substance sliding on my stomach. Edward gripped my hand beside me and kissed it again. I looked over and saw him practically bouncing around on his chair. He looked like a kid waiting for midnight to open his Christmas gifts-or Emmett, now that I thought about it. It was absolutely adorable to see him so excited to see our baby on the screen.

The doctor placed the tool over my abdomen and moved it around, turning on the screen with her free hand.

Abruptly, the room was filled with a quick and constant thumping sound which coincided with the image we were now presented with on the screen. There was a distinct outline of a head and a body curled up.

"Oh, God," Edward said as he watched the monitor in awe.

"There's the little one," the doctor commented happily. "That's the baby's heart you're hearing. And here," Dr. Meinheim pointed to a moving blob, "is the heart. It's too early to tell the baby's gender yet, but you can see the head and the profile."

I noticed Edward's head tilt to get a better perspective on the image we were seeing. To me, he or she still sort of resembled a blurry peanut, but there was no mistaking it; this was our baby.

"Wow," was all I could manage out of my mouth as I, too, stared at the screen. Dr. Meinheim then began writing a few details down and glanced back up at the monitor every few moments.

"Development looks perfect. The measurements look to be right on schedule. Given everything I see, I estimate your due date to be on or about July 23. Congratulations," she beamed at us. Edward wrapped an arm around my shoulders and kissed my temple.

"Thank you, Doctor," he mumbled, unable to focus on anything else except me, which made my smile widen indefinitely. Dr. Meinheim returned our smiles genuinely and sighed.

"I must tell you; I love this part of my job. You two are so in love, it's contagious. And you, Edward, remind me so much of Carlisle, it's amazing."

Considering they weren't even blood related, it was a great compliment for him. He smiled back proudly, though, reminding me just how much he loved his father, blood relation or no.

"Thank you. I've learned everything I know from my father."

"All the best stuff," I added with a smile, getting a chuckle from the doctors.

"There's only good stuff to learn from him. He's a great man," Dr. Meinheim agreed, rising from the stool before me, grabbing a damp cloth, and handing it to me. "Here you go, Bella. You can clean yourself up and meet me in my office down the hall. We can discuss any concerns you may have, and when you leave, you can schedule your next appointment with Lucy out front. Ok? See you in a few minutes, then," she said, waving at us and leaving us alone in the room. I wiped my stomach clean of the gel that was used on it with the cloth. Edward was at my side, still holding my coat and my small purse.

"Ready?" he asked, watching me right my shirt over my stomach.

"Yup, let's go."

Once in Dr. Meinheim's office, we discussed a few birthing options and some concerns we each had about the pregnancy. Once she answered our questions informatively, we said our goodbyes and made my next appointment with Lucy.

We walked out of the building holding hands like lovesick teenagers, smiling at each other like fools, but we didn't care.

"This is really happening, huh?" Edward asked as we reached the car. I nodded.

"It is. I sometimes still can't believe it."

"It's amazing how much has happened in the last six months," Edward breathed as he opened the passenger side door for me. "But I wouldn't change a thing."

* * *

**_Mid-January_**

**_Carlisle's POV_ **

I was preparing to call it a night after watching some television when the eleven o'clock news came on. Esme had already gone to bed. I gripped the remote control in my hand, preparing to turn it off, when the second news story came on, chilling me to the bone.

_"To local news now, where police say the death of business owner Whitney Bradshaw is being treated as a homicide." _

I froze when I heard that name on the news.

Whitney Bradshaw was a close friend. He was such a close friend that I had entrusted him with the monumental task of covering up Marie's death at his funeral home. I focused all my attention to the screen before me with near crazed single-mindedness.

_"Bradshaw,"_ the female reporter continued, _"the owner and director of the F.J Higgins funeral home in Roslindale, was found dead early yesterday morning in his car, which was found in a ditch off the I-90 in the direction of Soldiers Field Road."_ The scene upon the screen changed to a video of police searching the seemingly abandoned car off the side of the I-90, and another officer cordoning off the area with caution tape.

_"His wife reported him missing two evenings ago when he didn't return home from work that day." _

The scene changed again. This time, there was a picture of Whitney and his wife, Teresa, and their five year old son, Chase. I suddenly felt as if the breath had been sucked out of me. Even if I had wanted to say something at that moment, the sheer shock of the news kept my brain from functioning effectively to produce sound. I resigned to keep listening to the news broadcast.

_"The exact cause of death is being withheld by investigators, but police are certain they are dealing with a homicide. Bradshaw, a father and husband, had been the director of FJ Higgins for nearly ten years, and was a model citizen. Police ask anyone with information about the murder to call their local precinct or 1-800-494-TIPS. This marks the first murder of the year in the Boston area._

_"In other local news, the Mayor's office says an election is on the horizon..." _

I shut the television off and stared blankly at the screen, trying to process the information that had just been on it.

Whitney was dead.

And he hadn't just died of a heart attack or natural causes; he had been murdered. He was such a caring person that it made the notion of his having any enemies completely impossible. Perhaps it had been a carjacking gone wrong. He did drive a high-end Mercedes, after all. His car was nearly brand new, and had cost him quite a pretty penny. The different scenarios ran through my mind, but something nagged at me. Could his death have had anything to do with the role he played in helping Marie – Bella - escape? His participation had been fairly minimal; he had only agreed to the charade and provided me with the wood ashes that they passed off as Marie's cremated body.

Had he paid with his life for helping a young woman gain a new life?

It was impossible, though! There was no way that James suspected anything! We hadn't given him anything to rouse his suspicion, had we?

Yes, he had called me back at the end of December, but he had just called to get documents that he had misplaced re-sent to him; documents that I had had forged back when this whole ordeal started. There was no suspicion in his voice, no awkward pauses. He had used a tone that reminded me of the one he used when I informed him Marie had lost brain function; no nonsense, business as usual.

No, he didn't suspect that Marie was alive. He simply couldn't.

I had to remind myself of that.

That night, I fell into a restless sleep, knowing a friend of mine had been murdered, and that I would have to face his widow in a few days for his funeral.

* * *

**_Mid-January_**

**_James' POV_**

"Hey James, it's Murray. I have news. I sent you an MP3 of a conversation that I think will interest you," my PI said over the message he left on my voicemail. "And I have some info for you once you've heard it. Call me after so we can discuss that, and my bonus," he chuckled as the click of the line disconnecting was heard.

This was the call I had been waiting for.

I immediately logged into my email account and found his particular email, with the MP3 attachment titled '3'. I double-clicked the attachment and raised the volume on the computer.

There was a bit of white noise before I heard the voice of my mother-in-law.

"Hello?"

"Mom," I heard my _deceased _wife say.

"Hi, sweetie. How're you doing?" her mother asked.

"I'm really good, actually. I can't talk very long, but I wanted to check in. How did your New Year's go?" Hearing her voice again did strange things to my body. While I was absolutely livid to know that things were 'really good' with Marie and my blood boiled as a result, her angel-like voice always made me hard. I sighed in a mixture of rage and arousal.

"Good. We stayed in as usual and watched the broadcast on CityTV from Nathan Phillip's Square until 1am."

"Aww, I miss watching those with you guys," she said, sighing. I had to roll my eyes. My wife always did have weird traditions with her parents. It must have been a Canadian thing.

"I miss that too, baby," she replied sadly.

"Where's Dad?"

"Your father is out in the garage tinkering with the Jeep. You know the way he is; never satisfied with the way it runs until he's completely pulled the engine apart...again," my mother-in-law laughed.

"Yeah, I remember the first time he did that," she laughed. "Sorry I haven't called lately. Things have been crazy over here."

I was intrigued; how could things possibly be _crazy_ over there when she was alone in a strange place without anyone to care for her? She was always so reliant on me and my care. Yet there she was on the recording, sounding perfectly fine, independent, even. It began to infuriate me.

"What's been happening, hun?"

"Well, um, are you sitting down?" Marie sounded hesitant to continue. What news could she possibly have for her mother?

"You're scaring me, baby. What is it? What's wrong?"

"Nothing bad," Marie was quick to reply. "It's something amazing."

"What is it?"

"I'm pregnant."

I suddenly lost the ability to see as I zoned out.

My wife was pregnant by another man. My wife, who couldn't carry my baby to term, was happily carrying the child of another man.

The whore!

"Mom? You there?" Marie asked after a moment of silence, breaking me out of my haze of anger.

"Yes, sweetie, I'm here. I...I can't believe it!" her mother exclaimed with a squeal. I could hear her call for her husband in the background. In the meantime, while Marie's father was coming to the phone, I heard Marie giggling and talking to someone on her end.

"Did you tell her?" a faint male voice was heard asking. I grabbed the photo that I had found in the bistro that night-I kept it in my desk drawer for safe keeping-and stared at the face of the man. It must be him who got my wife pregnant. He didn't sound remorseful or upset that she was pregnant with his bastard child. He sounded elated, even in the four words he uttered that I could hear.

"Yeah, she's getting my dad on the phone," she replied quietly. I could just picture the smile on her face. I imagined that it was similar to the one she wore when she told me she was pregnant back in January of last year.

How dare she be happy about carrying another man's baby!

Even though the last thing I wanted to do was to listen to this love-fest any longer as my anger mounted, I forced myself to calm down and listen. The display told me that the MP3 was only another few minutes long. Suck it up, I told myself. The next few minutes could reveal something important.

I was not disappointed.

"Bella?" Marie's father asked as he came on the line.

_Bella?_ Is that what she was calling herself these days to elude me?

"Hi, Dad," she answered, confirming that it was indeed the name she answered to now.

"Your mom says you have something exciting to tell me."

"Yeah, Dad. You're going to be a grandpa." I could have sworn at that moment I heard the distinct sound of kisses on one of the lines. Disgusting.

"What...really? Oh my God! My little girl is going to have a baby! How have you been feeling?"

"The morning sickness passed a few weeks ago. Besides that, I've been good."

"And Edward's been treating you right, has he? Is he excited?" Marie's mother came on the line and asked.

So the bastard's name was Edward. It was a name I'd surely never forget.

"Yes, I'm really excited," Edward replied for her. "We both are, right, love?"

Who the FUCK did he think he was, calling my wife 'love'? I was going to enjoy finding them and destroying him before her eyes. He would beg for his life for hours before I ended him as Marie would watch.

"Yeah, mom, dad, we're really excited. And happy," she sighed blissfully.

"Do you know when you're due yet?" her mother asked.

"Yeah, my doctor estimates mid-July or so."

"Oh, Bella, I wish we could come see you," she lamented.

_Yes, so do I_, I thought. _Tell your mother where you are so that I can come and get you..._

"You know it's too dangerous, Mom. Don't worry. Soon, ok?"

_Fuck._

I heard someone sniffle. It was Marie's mother. "Ok, baby."

"Well, guys, Edward and I have to go, but we just wanted to tell you the good news."

"Ok, Bella. You take care of yourself, and Edward? Take care of them, will you?" Marie's father asked good-naturedly.

"Yes, sir, I will." This Edward sounded like a brown-nosing tool. He didn't know what awaited him when I found them, and I would find them. If it took forever, it wouldn't matter, because it would be worth it to make them both pay for their treachery.

"The name's Charlie, son," he laughed.

"Sorry, Charlie."

All the years I was married to Marie, her father had never _once _asked me to call him by his given name. This insufferable prick had already wormed his way into Marie's parents' hearts, and it only added to my fury.

"That's better. Well, kids, take care! Call us again soon, alright?"

"We will, dad. Love you," Marie, or should I say _Bella_, said sweetly. I recalled a time when she would only say those words to me. Those days were long gone. If I had my way, the only thing she'd ever say to me again would be words to plead for her life and that of her tool boyfriend.

And I always got my way.

"We love you, too," Marie's mother replied. "Bye!"

The line went dead and the MP3 stopped playing.

I listened to the recording twice more, committing every nuance and rise in my wife's voice to memory, before calling Stinson as he requested.

He answered in one ring, as if he had been anticipating my call. "Hey James. Liked my email, did ya?"

"Indeed," I replied shortly. "What other information do you have for me?"

"Man, my bonus is gonna be huge," he said under his breath.

"That depends on what exactly you have for me," I spat impatiently.

"Alright, alright, here it is. I ran a trace on the call. I have a location on your wife."

I gasped at the information. Was it really that easy? Stinson had come through more quickly than I would have ever imagined, or would have ever given him credit for.

I found myself trying to remember how to formulate words into sentences.

"James? You there? Yo, James?"

"Yes, sorry," I said at length. "Where is she?"

"She's in Washington State."

* * *

**A/N:**

_Uh-oh!_

_You can see the earrings Edward gave Bella for Christmas here:_

www(dot)tiffany(dot)com/Shopping/Item(dot)aspx?fromGrid=1&sku=21320153&mcat=148204&cid=287464&search_params=s+2-p+2-c+287464-r+101323351-x+-n+6-ri+-ni+0-t+

_So things are going to start picking up speed from here on out. I anticipate at least another seven chapters, and then an epilogue. We're nearly done, guys!_

_What did you think?_


	22. Best Laid Plans

_**I'm not Stephenie Meyer. This story is written for entertainment, not profit...don't sue me. Pretty please?**_

Enjoy, and remember, this is a work of fiction, so I invite you to suspend your disbelief with me, just for a little while...

Thanks for your reviews! I'm so happy so many people like my story! Enjoy!

_As always, thanks to Meghan for beta'ing_

* * *

**James' POV**

"All this time, searching for my wife across the globe, and she was only a few thousand miles across the  
country," I mused aloud, though there was no humour in my voice.

"Yeah, I thought the same thing. It's actually kinda funny."

I shook my head and tried to steady my breathing again. The instant I had heard where in the world  
Marie was hiding, my blood pressure soared. I began shaking and breathing shallowly. I needed to reign  
myself in before I destroyed my office as I had destroyed my living room at home.

I cleared my throat loudly. "Hardly. Where exactly in Washington is she?"

I heard papers rustling before Stinson spoke. "I was able to narrow it down to some Podunk town called  
Forks. I looked it up; it's a speck on the map. It's about three hours outside of Seattle, very small town,  
population is under four thousand; it won't be difficult for me to track her down."

I committed that bit of information to memory and looked at my watch.

"You've been exceptionally helpful, but I'll take it from here. I trust that you will treat our transaction  
with the utmost discretion."

"Always do, James," Stinson replied smoothly.

"Good. Now, let's meet at our regular place in an hour, and I'll give you your payment, plus that bonus."

I could almost hear him salivating at the promise of a bonus. "Excellent. See you then."

As I disconnected the phone, my brain was busy deciding what my next move was. Should I just show  
up there, or should I bide my time and get her and her boyfriend when they were least expecting it?

Knowing my sadistic nature, of course I would choose the latter.

Marie, or Bella as she now called herself, wouldn't suspect a thing. I would find her, and figure out the  
best way to torture her.

Marie's days masquerading as Bella, single woman living alone, were numbered.

Exactly an hour later, I met Stinson at Woodlawn Cemetery in front of my wife's grave marker. I handed  
him a swollen envelope filled with $70,000 in various denominational bills and nodded. I turned to walk  
away when he said, "I hope you find what you're looking for James."

I turned back to him and gave him a small grin. "Oh, I intend to. Thank you again for your assistance. I'll  
take care of the rest. And remember, we do not know each other, and we never spoke. This concludes our business together."

"You got it. See ya 'round."

I walked briskly back to my car and pulled out my cell phone. I pressed the speed dial and waited for my  
boss to answer his phone.

"Kevin Callahan here."

"Kevin, hi, it's James. I have some bad news, I'm afraid."

"What is it, James?"

"Well," I began, sounding reluctant, "as you know, these last few months have been hard on me." I was milking my 'poor widower' routine for all it was worth. "I need to do some thinking. You know, re-evaluate life without my wife."

"James, where are you? Are you drunk?" he asked, overly concerned.

"No, I'm not drunk," I said, keeping my anger at his insinuation out of my voice. "I'm at my wife's grave.  
I just..." I trailed off melodramatically, wanting to sound like I was fighting back tears and knowing my  
boss, the kind and warm-hearted man he was, would take the bait.

"I do know how difficult it's been for you," he answered in a far too gentle voice. "What do you need, James?" Kevin had always made it known throughout the firm how exceptionally grateful he was for all the dedication and hard work I had put in all these years with him. He also knew that I never asked for anything, so this was a rare occasion. I knew he'd be quick to give me whatever I needed.

"I'm sorry, but I have to resign."

"What?" Kevin nearly shouted. "You can't, James! We need you! You're the best lawyer I've seen in  
years!"

"I need to get my head on straight, and I can't do that here. I need to leave the city, go off the grid, you  
know? Be by myself for a while," I said, trying to sound apologetic when really I was smiling to myself.

I heard Kevin shuffling papers around and huffing. After a moment, he said, "Well, what if I place you on  
leave for a few months?"

"That's not enough time. I don't know when I'll be back to the area. I would hate to make you think I  
was ready to come back sooner than I was. To be honest, I'm not sure I could ever return."

I needed to tie all loose ends and make it look like I was still grieving. I couldn't have people asking  
questions about where I was going and when I'd return. I couldn't go off to find Marie while people were  
waiting for me in Boston. Besides, we probably weren't coming back.

Once I found my wife, I couldn't bring her back to Boston; people she knew would see her alive and I would have to pay back the money from her life insurance policy or she'd be charged with fraud. And I would rather punish her my own way and let the justice system, as flawed as it was, remain blissfully unaware that she still lived.

Luckily, it wouldn't be a stretch to think that I could live for years without working; I had received a big  
insurance claim when my parents were killed by 'intruders', and once I sold my condo, I would have  
quite a large addition to that, making it completely plausible that I'd be able to live elsewhere for a while  
without needing to work to sort out my 'grief'.

"James," Kevin began, almost pleadingly, "you're killing me, here." He sighed, no doubt planning what to  
do with me next. "What if I put you on indefinite leave? When you return to the area, you'll have a job here. And I say 'when' because I have faith in you. You love the law, and you love seeing justice out to  
the end."

_Isn't that the truth, _I thought. _That's exactly why I'm leaving; to make sure Marie pays for leaving me, to_  
_see that justice is served._

I sighed mainly for effect. "Thank you for your offer, and for understanding. After I wrap up the three  
cases I have on the go, I'll clear out my things. Realistically, it should be no sooner than a few weeks  
before that happens."

"Ok. And you're welcome. Even though we'll miss you at the firm, the partners will understand, like I do." Kevin's voice grew quieter as he continued. "I wouldn't know what to do with myself if I ever lost my wife and my child all in one night like you did. You've hung on as long as possible, but now you need to take care of your  
own well-being." Kevin was truly a compassionate man, albeit a bit too emotional for my personal taste.  
I never thought emotion had any place within the court systems; it clouded judgement and made men  
weak when dealing with facts. Justice was cut and dry - you committed a crime, you were punished. No  
underlying circumstances, no motives, no pleas of temporary insanity. That was how it was supposed to  
be, anyway.

And that was how it would be when I found Marie.

My justice would be served.

In a few weeks, once I finished the cases I still had pending; I would go and find my wife.

After I hung up the phone, I reached my car and got in. I took a glance back at Marie's grave marker. If  
all went according to my ultimate plan, Marie would wish she was six feet under that stone.

Things moved fast after I had that 'heart-to-heart' conversation with Kevin. Within three weeks of our  
conversation, my cases were wrapped up and my condo was sold for a fair price. My business colleagues  
were told that I was taking a leave of absence, as Kevin was led to believe, and I told everyone that I  
had no idea where I'd end up, but that I needed to clear my head and get away from the city. I hinted to  
a few of them that I was moving to Europe for a while so that they wouldn't really know whether I was in  
the States or abroad.

Once all my loose ends were tied up in Boston, I planned out my next step: making Marie's parents pay  
for keeping up the lie that Marie was dead and they were mourning her.

My first order of business was to cause a little accident for them. One they wouldn't soon recover from.

I couldn't personally oversee the job, though; I didn't want it to be tied to me in any way. So I called one  
of my shadier contacts in Toronto who had just been released from Kingston Penitentiary. I ordered him  
to drive over to downtown Toronto and pay the Evansons a visit. For his help, I managed to send him  
$10,000 through a mutual acquaintance.

I didn't care how it happened; I just wanted them to pay. Their deaths would make my revenge that  
much sweeter.

It was Jason, the jailbird, who suggested burning down the house and trapping them inside. I thought it  
was a brilliant idea, and gave him all the tips to make sure he wasn't caught. The only thing I asked for  
was a status report after the fact.

Jason called me from a pay phone three days after the plan was carried out and told me exactly what  
had transpired. He said he'd waited until they were asleep to set it up. He threw a Molotov cocktail  
type concoction through the basement window and the main floor. He was pretty confident that the  
authorities would just suspect that the Evansons were targeted because Charlie was a cop. They would  
assume some disgruntled criminal orchestrated the fire, which was fine by me. It was a half truth at best,  
but it would have to do. When I asked if the Evansons were dead, I heard a sigh over the phone.

"What?" I spat.

"Sorry, boss," he said. Even in his ridiculous Canadian accent, I could tell he was hesitant to continue.

"They aren't dead, are they?" I huffed angrily.

"No, but-"

"Why are they not dead? You did you not make sure?"

"I heard sirens and hightailed it outta there. No way I'm gonna go back to Kingston again, man!"

I sighed, frustrated.

"But they're both in pretty rough shape," Jason offered quietly.

"How do I know that?" I questioned, angered that my wishes hadn't been carried out to the letter.

"You have internet access? You can check CP24."

"What on _Earth_ is CP24?" I asked loudly. God help him if he was pulling a fast one on me...

"It's the website for the local news here. It's the top story since the dude's a cop. It's all there. Trust  
me."

"Fine. Hold the line." I switched the application on my BlackBerry to the internet browser and typed in  
the address he told me. Instantly, the top story came up on the home screen under the headline "Officer  
Evanson, Wife in Critical Condition". I clicked on it and read the condensed article for my BlackBerry.

_In the early morning hours of February 4, a three alarm blaze ripped through the home of Officer Charles_  
_Evanson of the Metro Toronto Police, and his wife, Renee, who were in the home when the fire started._

_"I saw the flames through the window," a neighbour who wished to remain anonymous recounted. "It_  
_was unreal. I called 911 the second I saw them."_

_Firefighters were able to contain the blaze around lunchtime today, but not before the roof collapsed on_  
_the East York area home. Early estimations of damages are running into the $300,000's. No houses in the_  
_surrounding area were affected._

_Police suspect arson, but have no witnesses or suspects as of yet._

_Officer Evanson and his wife are at Sunnybrook Medical Centre in serious but stable condition._

_Anyone with information is asked to call 222-TIPS._

_Well_, I thought, _this would have to do_. I was hoping for their deaths, but this could work in my favour,  
too.

"Ok, I just read the article. Good work," I said curtly.

"Really? Ok, cool," Jay blabbered relieved. "So, that's it?"

"Yes, for now. We'll be in touch."

"How? I don't have a phone."

"When I need you, I'll find you. Keep your nose clean until then." With that, I disconnected the line. Step  
one of my plan was taken care of. Marie's parents were in serious condition-not dead, but I'd deal with  
that at a later date-and when I found Marie, I'd let her know how that unfortunate fire came to be.

My next step was to locate Marie's place of residence and learn her pattern, maybe play with her a  
bit, torment her and give her new life a shake. Over the recording of the phone conversation with her  
parents, Marie sounded unburdened, free, and relaxed. This simply would not do. By the time I was done  
with her, she'd be terrified of her own shadow.

After I went to the bank and cashed out a few thousand dollars for travel expenses and the like, I  
procured a one way plane ticket to Seattle, with a short stopover in Los Angeles. I studied the map of the  
Seattle area religiously and found Forks on it. By my calculations, after landing in Seattle, I would be in  
the Forks area in less than four hours. At that time, it would already be dark out - the perfect opportunity  
to begin canvassing the area to find "Bella".

* * *

**February 14, 2010**

**BPOV**

Valentine's Day was a sweet day for me in the past, but after we were married, James expressed his  
hatred for the holiday, saying that it was just an excuse for greeting card companies to make 'weak men  
feel guilty for not giving into their wives' every whim all year'. As my romantic side began to die, so too  
did my hope that Valentine's day would bring a change in James. It never happened, and February 14  
was officially a day like any other in our house.

This wasn't the case in Forks, especially not with Edward around.

He insisted that I be completely free that day. Valentine's Day happened to fall on a Sunday, so I just  
needed to have my grading for the week done before then. My schedule was wide open; as it always was  
for him.

The morning of February 14, I was awoken by a kiss upon my forehead, and breakfast in bed. Edward  
had asked me to spend the night, which I gladly did frequently, and while I slept in that morning, he had  
slipped out of bed to make me - and himself - breakfast, which included a western omelette smothered in mozzarella cheese, breakfast sausages, and pancakes. The crowning touch was his crepes with Nutella  
and bananas folded inside. We ate blissfully in bed, sitting side by side. Bolt was curious about what was  
happening, so after Edward let him out to handle his morning business, he let the husky lie on the bed at  
our feet, panting happily as we took turns scratching his head.

After breakfast, we took a shower together; conserving water never felt so good! After getting dressed,  
we spent the day baby shopping. Normally, shopping was never very fun for me, but shopping for our  
baby had to be the most fun I'd had in a store before. We found a store that specialized in furniture  
that accommodated the baby as he or she grew up. While we didn't buy anything, just seeing what  
was out there was a great experience, not to mention doing it all while holding Edward's hand tightly. I  
would glance at him every so often and be mystified at the look of pleasure and happiness on his face.  
Who knew strollers and cribs and change tables were so expensive? The price tags scared me a bit, but  
Edward shrugged off my worries, telling me that our baby was worth any price.

We left the stores empty handed, but our minds were filled with ideas.

By the time we were home, it was time to start cooking dinner. Edward rushed me out the door and  
told me to dress in a business casual sort of way and return around 6:30. Not wanting to question him  
on what he was planning, I scurried on home and found something cute to wear from my new selection  
of loose fitting maternity wardrobe that Alice had taken me to get in January. I wore a red turtleneck  
sweater made of cotton, and I matched it with a black knee-length skirt with a ruffled hem. I felt pretty  
even as my belly was expanding, and I loved it.

I returned to Edward's around 6:45 to allow him a bit more time to cook. He ushered me into the dining  
room after giving me a passionate kiss and taking my jacket from me. When I walked into the dining  
room, I was pleasantly surprised by the elegance of his otherwise normal-looking table. He had dressed  
up the table with crisp white linens, and lit two long candles in the middle of the table. The lights were  
dim all around us so that we could truly enjoy the ambiance the light from the candles offered. The table  
was set with his fine china and silverware, and he even used cloth napkins and silver napkin rings around  
them. Our meal was already placed in the centre of the table, the aroma luring us both in its direction.

"Another one of Mom's recipes," Edward said, pointing at the three dishes. "Veal chops in that one,  
steamed vegetables in there, and rice in this one," he added, lifting the top of the last circular dish and  
setting it aside. "The sauce on the veal chops is unbelievable, at least when Mom makes it. Hopefully I  
did her justice."

I smirked. "I'm sure you did, babe."

"Well, let's sit down and eat. I would offer you wine, but..." he trailed off, pulling my chair out for me and  
kissing my temple. I giggled.

"Yeah, I know." I noticed that he'd put out a can of Canada Dry ginger ale to the right of my plate, the  
one thing I drank more than anything while I was pregnant. "Thank you, Edward."

"You're more than welcome, love. Now, enjoy!"

"I know I will," I said, lifting the serving spoon from the table and digging it into the tray of steamed  
veggies.

After we both enjoyed his cooking insatiably, Edward wiped his mouth and smiled at me.

"So, what do you want to do for the rest of the night?"

Of all the things we often did together, the one that I enjoyed the most was curling up on the sofa  
together and watching a DVD. Plus, the day had kind of tired me out, so I wanted nothing more than to  
fall asleep in Edward's arms listening to a movie.

"How about a movie on the sofa?" I offered. He nodded and beamed.

"Perfect. I knew you'd say that. I got a new one the other day. I think you'll like it." He rose from his  
seat, stacked our plates on top of one another and deposited them in the sink. "I'll take care of the  
dishes. Go ahead and set up the DVD. It's on the coffee table," he suggested, motioning toward the living  
room with his head. I walked into the living room, spotting the DVD where he said it would be and picked  
it up. The cover was blank, though. My first thought was that he must have found a bootleg version of  
a current DVD title, but that wouldn't make much sense considering that he had no real need to save  
money. Puzzled, I opened the DVD case and found a DVD with a white label on it that read, "WATCH  
ME".

I leaned over and popped the DVD into the player, curious as to what could possibly be on this that  
Edward wanted me to see.

As the DVD started up, the black screen faded into a white screen. I stared at it curiously. What was it  
that we were watching? A moment passed, and music began playing. I recognized it instantly: it was our  
song, _At Last_.

"Edward?" I called out to him, my eyes never leaving the screen in case something new happened. "What  
is this?"

Before he could answer, the words "Dance with Me" flashed upon the screen in script. I was terribly  
confused. Within another moment, the words "turn around" appeared in parentheses below the previous  
words, and then disappeared. A picture of the two of us faded onto the screen.

It was a picture I knew well: I had sent a copy of this photo to Carlisle and Esme. It was taken the  
weekend that all the secrets I'd been keeping came out. Carlisle and Esme's visit had brought clarity and  
honesty, and a new level to our relationship. From that weekend onward, we were open with each other  
about practically everything. I stopped hiding things from Edward and let him know everything; even my  
real name. Soon after that, we went on the winery tour and we were intimate for the first time ever. The  
weekend of the winery tour, I finally learned how it felt to truly be loved.

Doing as the DVD told me, I turned and found Edward smiling brightly with a hand extended to me.

"What is all this?" I inquired again as I took his hand and began doing my best imitation of slow dancing  
I could. Edward just smirked.

"I just felt like dancing with the mother of my child tonight," he said slyly. I somehow had a feeling that  
there was more to this DVD scheme than dancing, but I shook it off and smiled at him, easing into his  
arms and letting him take the lead. He was able to make me feel graceful just by being surrounded by  
his arms. All too soon, the music trailed off and I glanced over my shoulder to the screen again, awaiting something else.

I wasn't disappointed; a piano began to play and a new photo flashed upon the screen-the sonogram  
photo.

I smiled at seeing the sonogram photo on the screen. Instinctively, my hands released his, flew to my  
growing abdomen, and rubbed slowly. I felt his hands over mine and I looked up into his eyes. There  
were unshed tears there, and it showed me just how different Edward was from James. James was the  
type of man who found emotion to be a weakness. Edward, on the other hand, expressed his feelings  
with ease, and though I'm sure he hadn't meant to at that moment, he displayed his emotions far easier  
than any man I had ever known. His eyes told a 500-page story about what he felt, whether it was joy,  
frustration, or annoyance.

His eyes told me at that very moment that he was overjoyed about this baby. In turn, this made me even  
more ecstatic that I was pregnant. I had been worried unnecessarily about his reaction to the pregnancy,  
and in hindsight, it made me feel kind of foolish. I didn't doubt the depth of his love for a moment, nor  
did I ever doubt my own love for him. He had been helping me work through all the issues that came as  
a result of all that James had done to me, and for the first time in nearly a year, I was pleased with my  
life, I was not having nightmares, and I was actually planning for the future.

A year ago, I had no future to look forward to.

"Bella," Edward's voice pulled me out of my thoughts. "I'm madly in love with you. From the first time I  
saw you cleaning up that garage of yours across the street, I somehow knew that there was something  
incredible about you. I'm glad to have had the privilege to have found out." Edward placed a hand on my  
cheek.

"Sweetheart, there isn't anything that I wouldn't do for you. You are my life. And in a few months," he  
pressed gently against my stomach, "this little one will only add to my love for you." I looked up and saw  
one of those unshed tears fall from his eye and down his cheek.

"I'm so blessed to have you as my friend, my lover, and the mother of my child." He took a deep breath  
then. He dropped his hands from my tummy and my face and slowly got down on one knee before  
me. I gasped audibly as I watched him pull a black velvet box from his pocket, open it, and present it  
to me. "But I would be the luckiest man in the world if you were my wife, too." He took another deep  
breath and a grin appeared on his handsome face as he looked up at me.

"Please, Bella, say you'll marry me."

He waited with bated breath for my response. I looked down at the box in his hand, which contained a  
twinkling diamond ring. I was never one to care much about the carat or clarity or any of that nonsense,  
but the diamond on the ring in that box was the largest I'd ever seen. It sparkled radiantly off of the lights in the room.

A few moments passed, and the smile began to drop.

"Bella, say something, please," he practically begged, the smile now completely gone, and a worrisome  
look replacing it.

In the moments that passed after Edward's proposal, a million things flew through my mind, but only one

stuck.

I cleared my throat and took a breath.

"No, I can't."


	23. On the Move

_**I'm not Stephenie Meyer. This story is written for entertainment, not profit...don't sue me. Pretty please?**_

Wow, what a great response for the last chapter! I'm sorry once again for the delay in getting this out to you! But for those of you who are still here, THANK YOU. And here's your reward! A lemon just for you! :)

_As always, thanks to Meghan for beta'ing_

* * *

"No, I can't," I breathed quietly, watching as Edward's face told the story of his heartbreak at my words. I needed to explain to him what I meant by no, so I kneeled beside him and took his hands in mine.

He looked like he was in a trance-like state, numb at my answer. Once I took his hands, he snapped out of it and looked up at me.

His eyes were questioning, but sad.

"Why, Bella?" he asked quietly, closing the ring box and placing it slowly on the ground beside him.

"I refuse to get married just because we're having a child together. That may have worked for people fifty years ago, but we can't do that to our child. Tell me honestly, if I weren't pregnant, would you have proposed?" I questioned with a small smile. The question came from a part of me that was still a bit wary about our relationship, even though I knew he loved me and I loved him.

"Maybe not this soon into our relationship, but yes, Bella. I would have definitely asked you to marry me," he said confidently. The look of sadness had left his eyes for the most part; I suspected that he understood the reason why I had turned him down.

"I know this sounds hypocritical, but we shouldn't rush into something like that."

Edward snorted lightly. "You're right; it does sound hypocritical," he said, with an air of playfulness in his voice. I breathed a sigh of relief when I heard his tone. "I understand your hesitation towards marrying me, but you shouldn't worry about that. I have never felt this way before. I adore you. You are the only woman in the world for me. I've known this for a while now."

I shook my head sadly. Even after saying something so sweet, his eyes were undeniably miserable as he looked down at our hands. I knew I was disappointing him by denying him the only thing he'd ever asked of me. It killed me to see him look so despondent.

With his hands still in mine, I rose to my feet and pulled him to the couch where we sat down. I angled my body toward Edward beside me, and tucked my legs under me.

"I love you more than I ever thought I could, Edward. I just can't marry you yet."

He sighed and stroked the back of my hand with his thumb. He seemed to understand my reasoning without even having to say it. Sure, we loved each other, but I didn't want to tie him down to me simply because we were having a child. Besides, my last marriage didn't end so well. Technically, it ended the day I became Bella Swan, so I wasn't turning him down because I was still married. Marie Huntington was the married one, not Bella Swan. I was no longer _that_ woman, the one who took whatever insults and injuries James gave me without fighting back. I was stronger, more independent. I was a completely different person now.

"It's getting harder and harder to be away from you for any amount of time, love," he murmured, looking at my hands in his. "When you leave this house, I miss you so much. It's like you take my heart with you."

"It's the same with me, believe me. It's hard to breathe when I'm not with you," I confided, which surprised me greatly. It had been so easy for me to say to him what I felt. That sense of relief and freedom was still relatively new to me, but it was amazing.

Edward's eyes suddenly lit up just then and his posture straightened. He brought my hand up to his mouth and kissed the back of it, gazing at me with hopeful eyes.

"Bella, if you can't marry me yet, what would you say if I asked you to move in with me? I can't stand to be away from you, even if you live across the street, and it would make a lot of sense. After all, the woman I love is having my baby. I would love to come home to her every night, to be able to wait on her, hand and foot, get her the foods she craves any time I can, and to take care of her every need." Edward wore the most adorable pout known to man, or _me_.

I sat there pensively, watching the expression on his face, trying to decide whether what he was proposing was a good idea or not. As I tried to figure things out, a daydream-like vision passed before my eyes; Edward and I sitting at the kitchen table eating dinner, our faceless baby sitting in a high chair between the two of us, Edward attempting to feed our child and getting a face-full of mush in his face instead, the annoyed, but loving smile he wore as he tried to clean the baby's face after a feeding...

What he said made absolute sense, at least in terms of satisfying our own cravings for each other. It really did no good for us to be away from each other for very long. We loved each other, and we were having a child together. There was no point in denying that it made sense to live together so that we could raise this child together.

Slowly, I nodded my agreement.

"You will?" His eyes lit up with the possibility. I nodded again.

"Yes, Edward," I patted my stomach lightly. "We'll move in with you."

Instantly, I found myself in his arms, being pulled tightly against his incredibly warm body. His hands found my face and cupped it.

"Thank you, my love." He kissed my forehead briefly before bringing his lips to mine softly. I hummed with contentment and leaned into his embrace, sighing. Edward positioned me so that my head was tucked under his chin.

"Can you do me a favour, sweetie?" he inquired.

"Anything."

"Wear my ring, please? Even though it's not going to happen until you're ready, I have this strange need to..." he trailed off. When I didn't hear him continue, I sat up and faced him again. I could only describe the look he wore as shame. I searched his face, trying to figure out why.

"Edward, what's wrong?"

He sighed. "Never mind. Forget I said anything." He tried to brush me off and push me off him gently, but I pushed right back.

"I won't. What's the matter? What were you about to say just now?" The shame was still in his eyes. "Please, tell me."

He breathed deeply and released it.

"I was going to say that I have a need to mark you as mine. That's why I wanted you to wear my ring, even though it didn't mean anything. I'm so sorry for even thinking that, baby—" I cut him off by putting my hand on his lips.

"I feel the same way about you sometimes, Edward. I get jealous of those other women looking at you, and sometimes I think that maybe I'd like them to see a ring on your finger to warn them away from you, to show them that you're taken," I murmured, running my fingertips over his cheek. "It's human nature to be jealous."

"But after everything that you've been through, the last thing you need is a possessive asshole like me 'marking' you. What kind of stupid caveman thinking is that?" Edward replied, shaking his head and casting his eyes downward.

"You haven't done anything inappropriate. Your intentions are and have always been good, sweetheart." I gave him a bigger smile.

"And," I continued, lowering my voice in an attempt to be seductive. "I'm pretty sure you have every reason to be possessive, since I _am_ carrying your child, and I'll be moving in with you soon." I pressed myself against him gently, knowing that I was grazing a certain part of his anatomy with my hip. "And then, I'll be in your bed every night." Edward's eyes became hooded with desire, so I knew I was making my point thoroughly. I ran my hands down his chest and moved so that I was straddling his hips on the sofa. "So, I'd say you have plenty to be possessive about. Just remember that I give you my heart and my body freely," I concluded on a more sombre note. He took my face in his hands and looked into my eyes intensely.

"And I thank God every day that you do, love—every day."

I was instantly decided then. Even though I had just denied this incredible man his request, I suddenly found myself wanting his sparkling diamond to sit upon my finger, along with all the connotations it came with. I wanted to meet him at the end of an aisle, wearing a white dress and a bright smile. I wanted to have our children grow up in Forks surrounded by Edward's family. I wanted the Cullens to be _my _family, too. In short, I wanted everything Edward was presenting me; maybe not in the incredibly near future, but _some day_.

I felt around for the box in which his ring lay and picked it up.

"Could you please," I said, bringing the box up into view, "put it on me?"

"Yeah?" Edward's eyes grew large with happiness again. I nodded meekly. He dropped his hands from my face and took the box from me. Within moments, my left hand was a bit heavier with the weight of his ring. I had to admit that it was absolutely stunning. Now that I looked carefully at it, I realised it was white gold or platinum—I had no idea how to decipher between the two—with a large square-cut diamond solitaire in its centre. I smiled a watery smile at my love and leaned in to kiss his lips.

"Someday, not tomorrow or next month, but someday, we will be married. I promise you. Edward, I love you, more than I ever thought possible, and nothing would make me happier than if I were your wife," I vowed, watching his face once again light up with exuberance at my words.

He understood; I saw the emotions glimmering in his eyes as he nodded and wrapped me in his arms, pulling me close against him as I continued to straddle his hips.

"So, one could say that technically, we're engaged then?" Edward asked in a mischievous tone after he kissed my temple. I giggled.

"Yes, we are."

He immediately crashed his lips to mine. His tongue gained entry into my mouth and danced with mine briefly before Edward pulled away and rested his forehead against mine, trying to catch his breath. Silently, he motioned for me to get off of him. I complied, and he then took my hand and pulled me with him toward the stairs. He took the steps two at a time excitedly. As I reached the top of the stairs behind him, he turned and lifted me swiftly into his arms bridal-style. Gazing at me lovingly, he resumed the kiss we had begun on the main floor.

Before I knew it, Edward had gently laid me down on his bed and was hovering over me, his lust-filled eyes appraising me.

"You're beautiful," he whispered, leaning down to kiss my cheek. Once there, he started to descend his kisses down my neck and to my chest. He helped me out of the red turtleneck I wore, as well as my pink lacy bra, discarding them on the floor, and then focused his attention on my breasts, kissing each one softly before going lower still. He reached the waistband of my skirt and reached around me to find the zipper. Tooth by tooth, the zipper went down and Edward pulled the skirt away from my legs and onto the floor to join my other garments.

Realizing that he had far too many clothes on, I sat up just enough to reach the bottom of his shirt and lift it up over his head, making him chuckle.

"Excited, are we?" He laughed as he pulled the shirt completely off, exposing his lean upper body to me. I nodded.

"Definitely," I said smoothly, feeling a wave of lust hit me as I looked my _fiancé _up and down. "You're still wearing too many clothes," I added, reaching for the belt on his trousers. With a smirk, he let me undress him and toss his pants with the rest on the floor. There were now only two scraps of fabric between us and sheer and utter pleasure.

Edward lowered himself back down to me, kissing my lips tenderly, and then more heatedly, igniting my own passion inside me. Edward's hands were everywhere, caressing my face, ghosting up and down my sides and blazing a trail down my thighs. As his kisses grew deeper, his questing fingers traced my heat through the lace of my panties where he could feel the dampness seeping through the flimsy fabric.

"Oh, you're so wet for me," he purred. "Just the way I like it."

"Only for you, Edward," I replied in what sounded to me like a moan.

Impassioned by my response, Edward reached down and languidly pulled my panties off of me, saucily twirling them around his finger before sending them careening across the room and then slowly removed his own boxer briefs. Bracing himself over me, he returned his lips to mine, eagerly kissing them over and over while his hand travelled down towards my stomach. His fingers tip toed down lower until they reached my entrance. One finger then dipped inside, making me gasp at the feeling and my eyes close tightly. He began to slowly pump his finger in and out while his thumb traced my folds and found my throbbing bundle of nerves, wringing a gasp from deep inside me.

Leisurely, he brought his now drenched finger up to his lips and sucked my essence from it. "Mmm. Perfection," he said, gazing into my eyes deeply. He swept a stray hair from my cheek and said, "I love you, Bella."

"I love you, too," I replied seriously. "Make love to me. Please, Edward."

He smiled, leaning down to kiss me once again. "With pleasure, my fiancée." He reached between us and took hold of his length, guiding it to my entrance. We both sighed with relief as he slipped inside me a moment later. He began a steady rhythm, pushing himself in, pulling all the way out and then thrusting back in once again, all the while looking into my eyes. His face held a look of rapture and bliss that couldn't be denied.

"God, you feel so incredible," Edward murmured as he continued his pace.

"Mmm, so do you, babe. And just knowing that we can make each other feel this way for the rest of our lives is such a thrill," I replied, wrapped up in the sensations that Edward was giving me.

I could tell my words turned him on even more because he picked up his pace then, pumping into me faster and harder. He began to angle his hips just the way I liked it, grinding his pelvis on the down stroke to caress my sensitive core and I could feel my climax building inside. A few more powerful thrusts had me careening over the edge of a glorious abyss and I knew it was only a matter of moments before Edward would follow as my walls tightened and contracted around him.

"Always, Bella. Always," he chanted as he continued. Suddenly, he gasped and I could feel him twitching inside me, spilling his seed in me. He thrust twice more before his movements stilled and he practically collapsed on me, breathing heavily. Once he gained control of his breathing, he kissed my lips quickly and jumped off of me to clean himself up. He was gone what felt like only a few moments, since I was still in a post-coital daze. When he returned, still gloriously naked, he lay on his side and pulled me toward him again. His lips grazed my ear as he whispered, "my love for you knows no bounds, Bella." His arms wrapped around me and he pressed me closer still. My whole body hummed with pleasure and ecstasy as he held me. "You've made me so happy tonight," he continued. "You make everything I've ever wanted, all my wildest hopes and dreams, possible. Thank you, Bella."

At his words, I sighed and felt tears of happiness welling up in my eyes. The only words I could think of that I would hope to match his were, "God, I love you."

We were quiet for a while, holding each other and listening to each other's breathing and hearts as they beat steadily.

"Stay tonight," Edward practically begged his voice low and coloured with sleepiness.

"Of course," I said without missing a beat. He took a deep breath and gathered the covers over us, tucking us in.

Before he fell asleep, Edward nudged me gently and asked, "So when should we start moving you in?"

I smiled at the question. "Whenever you want."

"My next day off it is, then," Edward murmured happily. Within a few minutes, he and I were fast asleep.

We remained that way - wrapped in each other's arms and unclothed - all night.

* * *

**_February 20_**

**_BPOV_**

I had begun to show more and more every day. I was approaching my four and a half month mark. Every day I looked in the mirror, I saw a difference. It was absolutely amazing how happy I was that our little one was growing normally. Since I had never imagined that I would be blessed to be a mother, I never resented the baby or worried about if I was looking 'fat'. I was happy I was beginning to look round.

Unfortunately for me and my newly-found self-reliance, it meant that Edward was all the more unwilling to let me lift the few boxes I had packed of my belongings that I wished to bring with me to his house.

As I boxed my meagre belongings up earlier that day, I couldn't help but giggle a little at myself. It felt as if I had just moved into my first home, and now only under a year later, I was packing up and moving again. Only this time, I was moving in with the man I adored, who made me feel cherished and safe and loved. Most of all, Edward made me feel like I was finally home. In every action, in every word, in every look, I was reassured that he was the love of my life. Moving wasn't that much of a hardship because I knew I was moving _home._

I watched Edward carrying the medium-sized boxes one by one into his garage, and I couldn't help but feel lazy, like I was being made to watch as someone else taught my class. I shook off the feeling, knowing that this concession allowed Edward more peace of mind regarding my pregnancy; as the baby grew, so too did his anxiety. I let him dote on me more to placate him than to take it easy. I knew that there'd be plenty of time for taking things easy.

"That should be everything," I stated as Edward carried the final box of stuff from my house into his garage on moving day.

"You sure? I still need to get your dishes and the linens," Edward said placing the box on the floor and wiping his hands on his jeans.

I shook my head with a smile. "I don't need them. You have enough of those things for me. Besides, I wouldn't want to cramp the style in your house."

Instantly, Edward's arms were around my expanding waist, pulling me close to him. "Sweetheart," he gently admonished. "This is _your _house now, too. Anything you want to bring here won't be cramping any style because it's _your style_, too, now. We have plenty of space for anything of yours. Understand, love?" he asked, tilting my chin with two fingers. "This is _our home_; yours, mine, and the baby's. Never forget that, Bella."

He placed a kiss on my forehead and hugged me. I breathed in deeply, knowing his words were sincere and heartfelt. When he said it was _our home_, I felt a light flutter in my stomach. I was convinced that our little one could hear and recognized our voices, and this was one of those times that proved that in my mind. I gasped and pulled Edward's hand to my tummy. He looked surprised, but the look faded after a few moments.

"I don't feel anything," he whispered as he looked down at my stomach.

"I felt the baby move!" I exclaimed happily. Unfortunately, Edward was not feeling the same movement and his expression told me as much.

"I think it's a bit early for me to feel anything yet. Don't worry," he soothed, rubbing my stomach now, "I'll feel you soon enough, baby. You need more time to grow." He returned his gaze back up to my eyes and said, "Now, let's go get the rest of your stuff, love. I have to get back to work soon, but I want to help you as much as I can until I leave."

I took his hand in mine and smiled. "Thank you for everything."

"No need to thank me," he murmured. "I should be thanking you for agreeing to move in with me."

We began walking toward my house across the street hand in hand. "Hey, I'm getting the better deal here, not you!" I joked. "Your house is much bigger than mine."

We kept walking in silence until we reached the front porch of my house. Instead of walking into the house, Edward stopped me and gripped me by the shoulders gently. Facing me, he watched me seriously and said, "Bella, the size of the house means nothing to me. The value of what will be inside the house is what will matter to me. You and our baby will be housed inside. It doesn't matter if we move into a van down by the river, or a mansion in Chicago. I just offered to have you move in to my home because the house has sentimental value. My family and I grew up here. I just thought I would love to be able to raise our son or daughter in the same house I grew up in, too, but if you-"

"Stop, Edward," I said, raising my hand. "I didn't say it because I wanted you to move into _my_ house. I agree with you completely about raising our child in the same house you grew up in. It's fitting. Besides, if I get nostalgic about this place," I motioned to the house above us, "I can just come by. Or, once it's sold, look out the window."

"You sure?" he asked me dubiously. I nodded and unlocked the front door, looking back at him as I entered pulling him along with me.

I stood there, contemplating my answer. _Was_ I sure?

Unequivocally.

Yes, I was.

I had once been tied to material things from my past life in Boston, but once my life was in danger, those material things suddenly meant absolutely nothing to me. I had left photos, jewellery, and gifts that my parents had given me behind without as much as a second thought. These things that once had held so much sentimental value were reduced to just baubles. I had been realistic in my attitude toward them all: those tangible things meant little in comparison to my own life. When I thought about my little house on Cedar Glen Gate, my first house since becoming this new person, I felt happiness and that sense of freedom was growing accustomed to, but nothing more. To be attached to a house was irrational to me—at least in the grand scheme of things. I was only attached to the memories that were created while I lived there, and those I was taking with me wherever I went.

I nodded confidently. "Absolutely."

I originally wanted to put my house up for sale, but we both agreed that it wasn't the best time of year for that, so we decided to keep it off the market until after the baby was born.

It was a huge adjustment at first, living with Edward. His schedule was not as regular as mine was, so we were waking up at odd hours, and almost never at the same time of day. I hated waking him up inadvertently while I was getting ready for school in the morning. I quickly learned to pick out my clothes for the following day the night before so I wouldn't have to turn on any lights to find them, and put them on in the guest bathroom down the hall so as not to wake him up while I was showering or changing. I always made sure to kiss him before leaving the house, though. He would always tell me he loved me and to drive carefully before once again passing out. I thought it was adorable.

There were other days where he would already be out of the house when I awoke, and that was a hardship in itself since I had grown attached to feeling him behind me, with his hands cradling my belly sweetly, like he was protecting us from some unseen nocturnal evil.

Whoever would get home first would start dinner, which was an unspoken rule in the house. It was such a change from the kind of man I once lived with that the first few times Edward beat me home, I thought he was just being nice. Once we got into a routine, it was almost like clockwork: most weeks, three of five weekday dinners were prepared by Edward since he worked the night shift most nights. Sometimes after dinner if he didn't have to return to the hospital, we'd sit down and watch a movie, or we'd go into town to mini-putt, or take a stroll around the neighbourhood with Bolt when it wasn't unbearably cold.

Simply put, living with Edward was everything I had convinced myself I would never have; real affection and love.

The day after moving in with Edward, I called Esme and Carlisle to tell them about the good news. Needless to say, they were thrilled that we were moving in together and _technically _engaged. Esme promised that she and Carlisle would come to Forks when I went into labour, though we wondered how they could possibly promise that, what with their busy lives and full work schedules.

When I called my parents to tell them the good news right after speaking with Esme and Carlisle, the phone just rang and rang. I tried a few times that day with no success. I tried the next day, and the one following that. I varied my calling times, specifically trying during the times I knew for a fact that one of them would be home, but I still had no answer. After a week of trying, I decided to try a different tactic. I had Edward call my old neighbour from across the street, Mrs. Steeds, and ask for some information. Mrs. Steeds was an 85-year old widow who lived her life looking through the large window facing my parents' house. She always knew everything about everyone in the neighbourhood, or speculated on it with a near-perfect record. When I was in grade school, she watched me after school until my mother got home from work. Early on, I was made to memorize her phone number in case of emergencies, and since then, I'd never forgotten it. Knowing she was no doubt still there and had the same phone number, I had Edward call her on speaker so I could hear Mrs. Steeds' answers to his questions.

"Hello, is this Mrs. Steeds?"

"Yes, who is this?" the old woman asked suspiciously.

"Um, my name is Phillip. I'm a family friend of the Evansons. They gave me your number in case I couldn't get a hold of them. Is everything alright with them? I've been trying now for two weeks to get a hold of them, but no one seems to be answering."

The elderly lady sighed into the phone sadly. "Oh, dear," she mumbled. "Such a tragedy."

I gasped as I heard Mrs. Steeds say 'tragedy'.

"Tragedy?" Edward asked, putting into words my worry. "What happened?"

"About a month ago, some hoodlum broke into their house and set it on fire while they were sleeping. I heard the window breaking and called the police when I saw the flames."

I gasped again at the news, covering my mouth to stop the noise from being heard over the speaker. Edward touched my shoulder soothingly and watched me as he asked Mrs. Steeds his next question.

"Are they alright?" he asked nervously.

"Oh, thankfully yes, dear." Edward and I both let out a sigh of relief at that. His hand never left my shoulder in its soothing gesture. Mrs. Steeds continued, "They were in the hospital for a week for some sort of minor burns, but were released soon after. The house is unliveable right now, so they're staying with a friend in Mississauga. That's why the phone line keeps ringing...Come to think about it, they _did_ leave me with a forwarding number, should someone ask for them. Oh dear," the woman sounded like she was trying to recall some distant memory as she ho'd and hummed, "they left me a paper with a phone number and the name of the woman they were sure would call for them...oh dear, now where did I leave that paper, I wonder?" she asked herself.

"Could the name of that woman have been Bella by any chance?" Edward asked.

"Yes! That's it! They said someone named Bella would be calling. How did you know that?"

Edward and I laughed at her tone; she was shocked but good-naturedly so.

"I know Bella. She's actually sitting beside me. Say hello, Bella," Edward said, looking at me with a grin.

"Hi, Mrs. Steeds."

"Oh, hello. I'm not sure we've met before, but your voice sounds ever so familiar."

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. "No, we haven't met before, but Renee and Charlie have told me about you. You used to watch their daughter, Marie, after school."

"Yes, I did. It was horrible what happened to Marie. That brute of a husband will get his just desserts in hell."

"Wait, what happened to her?" I asked curiously. What sort of stories had been told about my demise back home in Toronto?

"Well, they say it was an accident. She fell down the stairs, hit her head, and fell into a coma, but her parents blame her husband. Renee and I talk every so often. She holds so much hatred towards him..." She trailed off, no doubt wondering if she perhaps had said too much to virtual strangers over the phone. "That scoundrel didn't even have the decency to appear bereaved at the memorial service. Charlie had to restrain himself from causing a scene that day, from what Renee tells me. "

So thankfully, Renee hadn't been randomly spouting off dangerous information to the neighbourhood gossip. I was glad she had someone to talk to about the situation; someone who was far enough removed from the situation that she couldn't speculate about the details.

"Yeah, he's a piece of work," Edward said into the speaker phone, his anger at James apparent in his voice. I smiled sadly at him and took his hand from my shoulder, offering my comfort to him this time. This seemed to stifle his anger and return his demeanour back to normal because he breathed in deeply and said, "Mrs. Steeds, do you have that forwarding number for Renee and Charlie? Bella and I would really like to speak with them to make sure they're alright."

"Oh, I'm sorry, dear. Of course you may! Let me find it here. One moment," she said, putting the phone down on a table. We heard footsteps leading away from the phone and Mrs. Steeds' mumbling growing softer and softer.

"Oh God, I can't believe they were in a fire!" I exclaimed, unable to keep my emotions in check. "They could have died! I can't wait anymore, Edward. I have to see them," I said, a sob escaping my throat.

"Sweetheart, you know what Carlisle said. It's way too risky."

"I know, but...I haven't seen them in almost two years...knowing that their lives were in danger just makes the need to see them all the greater." I couldn't stop the tears that fell from my eyes then. Edward wrapped me in his strong arms and was about to no doubt soothe me when Mrs. Steeds returned to the phone. Edward took down the number, wished her well, and hung up, focusing all his attention to me. His hands rubbed my arms up and down slowly as he tried to quiet my sobs.

"Love, I know you want to see them, but it's not safe. Who knows who would recognize you? Let's talk to them and make sure they're ok...if you really want to visit them, we can talk to Carlisle and see what he thinks about it, alright, baby?" he murmured, still rubbing my arms. I worked to control my breathing and my sobs. Slowly, I returned to normal, if for no other reason than it was bad for the baby for me to get worked up. I consoled myself by leaning over Edward and dialling my parents' friend's number into the phone and pressing the speaker button. Edward watched me silently as I did this, nodding very minutely in approval. It must have worried him to see me so upset, too.

The phone rang twice before a strange voice answered.

"Hi, is Renee or Charlie there, please?" I asked timidly.

"Yes, one moment." The unknown woman put the phone down quietly. I heard her calling Renee in the background, and I suddenly felt the familiar fluttering in my womb I had been feeling lately. I gently touched my belly and rubbed slowly. Edward caught my gesture and tilted his head in question.

"Baby is excited to hear Grandma's voice," I said with a smile. He nodded and returned the smile, placing his hand over mine on my tummy.

The speakerphone buzzed with footsteps getting louder until the handset was picked up.

"Hello?"

"Mom!" I cried out, all the emotions I had reigned in before bubbling back up to the surface.

"Bella! Oh, how are you? How is the baby? How's Edward?" she rambled, making Edward chuckle.

"We're good, but what about you? Mrs. Steeds told us there was a fire!"

"We're ok. It sounded worse than it was. We think someone was trying to get at your father, so the police thought it would be best to make the media think we were worse off. We got out just in time, with some first and second degree burns. We both had to stay in the hospital for a few days because of smoke inhalation. But our house wasn't so lucky..."

I could tell that my mother was having an incredibly difficult time keeping the devastation of losing their house of over fifteen years out of her voice. She loved that house. She finally broke and we could clearly hear a sob escaping her lips.

"Mom, the house can be replaced," I assured gently, trying to soften my own pain as well as my mother's. "As long as you and Dad are alright, nothing else matters." I could hear Renee sniffling. "You guys had Edward and me so worried. I had half a mind to go straight to Toronto and bang on the door-"

"No, Bella!" Renee exclaimed. "You can't risk yourself like that. What if someone saw you and reported back to James? No, baby, you can't even think of it. At least not just yet. Promise me, Bella!"

Renee's logic matched Edward's to a tee and no matter how much I wanted to deny it, they were both right. I sighed heavily and nodded for Edward's benefit.

"Edward said the same thing, Mom...Ok, I promise–" I glanced at Edward as I continued, "to both of you."

"Thank God," she sighed, "Oh, is he there with you?"

"Yes, Renee, I'm here," Edward answered for himself with a grin. "We're so relieved you're alright."

"Oh, don't worry about us. We're good, Edward. We're just homeless for the time being, but our friends in Mississauga have been so helpful and accommodating. The insurance claim should take care of a rental for a while until the house is assessed and potentially fixed. Enough about that, though. How's my grandbaby?"

Edward laughed and replied, "Bella swears that she can feel the baby moving, and then I go to feel the movement and feel nothing."

"Oh, don't worry about that. It's natural. She's not that far along." Renee paused then, taking a deep breath. "We really do want to see that grandbaby—and you two," she added seriously.

"I know, Renee. We would love it, too, but we'll have to run it by Carlisle to see if he thinks it's a good idea."

She sighed in defeat. "I know, I know. Hopefully that day will come soon. It's been too long without seeing my only daughter." Renee paused, and we heard her suck in a breath. "Keep her safe for her father and me, will you, Edward?" I could hear my mom sniffling again. I was always a sucker for tears, especially my mother's; the minute she cried, I cried, too. That was what I did in that moment. Her tears triggered my own to fall down my cheeks. I leaned my head on Edward's shoulder and wiped my eyes as Edward replied to my mother.

"With my life, Renee. I swear it." He sounded like a valiant knight of the Round Table swearing an oath to King Arthur, which made me smile through my tears. "Actually," he continued, "the reason Bella and I were so anxious to get a hold of you and Charlie was because we had an announcement to share with you two."

I smiled, watching Edward's face light up as he shared the news with my mother.

"I've asked Bella to marry me. Since she's right in wanting to wait for that step, I asked her to move in with me instead and she's agreed."

"Hmm," Renee hummed in thought. I somehow knew that was how she'd react. While my mom was generally very supportive of my decisions, sometimes she couldn't help but sound disapproving or critical of them first. It was understandable, considering my biggest mistake–marrying James straight out of college–nearly cost me my life. Not that she would ever hold that against me, but I knew that her motherly instincts were screaming at her now more than ever. "You sure about this, Bella? That's a big, big step," she said sceptically.

"I know, Mom," I started, "but we love each other, we're having a child together, and I'm absolutely sure of Edward. I've never been surer of anything in my life." I didn't want to sound defensive, but I was positive that was how it came out. I sighed.

"I know, baby. I can tell. You've never sounded so happy before. It's my job to ask, that's all." Renee giggled. "As long as you and Edward are good to one another, your dad and I won't ever go against that. We just want you to be happy and safe."

"Thanks, Mom. I love you for worrying, but I think we're good, right, babe?" I glanced at Edward, who, when I looked up at him, was staring at me with a gentle smile upon his lips. He nodded, his eyes never leaving my face, and said, "Yes, Renee, we're great in fact."

"Well, that's all I want," my mom confirmed, putting the smile back on my face. "Bella, your dad'll be back from work in a few hours. Anything you want me to tell him?"

"Just tell him that I love him and...well, tell him our good news. I'll call back sometime next week and hopefully he'll be around for us to talk to him."

"Ok, baby. Be careful, take care of that little one, and maybe next call, we can talk about your pregnancy," she said in a hopeful tone. I laughed.

"Sure, Mom. Ok, we have to go. Love you."

"Love you, too, baby. Bye, Edward! Give her a kiss from me!"

Edward kissed my forehead before saying, "Already done, Renee. You take care of yourself, too. Say hi to Charlie from us."

"Ok, bye!"

Edward held me for a moment, my head tucked under his chin, before speaking.

"Feel better, baby?" Edward asked.

"Yeah, I do. She sounds good."

"She does. Maybe someday, when the danger is less, she and your dad can come to visit us," he suggested.

I nodded, closing my eyes. I pictured Edward, the baby, and I picking my parents up from the airport, the hugs we'd exchange, and the tears, how Renee and Charlie would fuss over their grandchild, how Charlie would get along beautifully with Edward, how Renee would gush over how handsome Edward was, how Renee and Charlie and I would spend all night talking and catching up...

"That would be incredible," I replied, sighing. "Someday."

* * *

_**JAMES POV**_

_**Early April**_

March was a fast-paced month for me. It flew by so fast, it barely even registered in my mind. The month was filled with the anticipation of finding Marie; nothing else that happened that month mattered to me until the second I landed at Sea-Tac.

Before I knew it, I was there, in Seattle, holding my carry-on bag in one hand, and pulling my suitcase in the other, towards the taxi pick up area. I had researched the Seattle area extensively, so I knew that there was a used car dealership twenty miles away from the airport. I took a taxi to the dealership and bought a small sedan to drive to Forks, paying in cash so as not to leave a longer paper trail than necessary. I made sure the car was something I would normally have never been caught dead in - a lower end import - to make sure I didn't alert Marie to my presence prematurely in case she saw it. I filled the tank, bought a local map, and began my journey to Forks to find my wife.


	24. Safe Distance

_I'm not Stephenie Meyer. This story is written for entertainment, not profit...don't sue me. Pretty please?_

As always, thanks to Meghan for beta'ing. Love ya!

Wow! What an amazing reaction I got from the last chapter! Even though I don't reply to the reviews I get on , (the computer I use at work is a bit old, and it takes FOREVER to reply to one review), please know that I read each and every one! As for the reaction from the last chapter, I guess everyone loves lemons! :) Thanks for your reviews! This is my longest chapter yet, and the quickest out! So, enjoy!

(and PS. James' views aren't mine. I think every woman should at least attempt to drive a standard transmission car (in case you are forced to drive somewhere in Europe!), and that nothing is beyond our (women's) mental capacity; we just have to _want _to learn it!

Consider this your Christmas gift from me, all the way from Milton, Ontario, Canada! :)

* * *

**James POV**

_Mid-April_

My first week in Forks was spent laying the ground work for the rest of the time I would be spending there. I made a deal with a local motel owner and paid for a room with cash on a week-to-week basis. The duration of my stay was unknown, so I had to prepare to be prepared. Perhaps I'd find Marie right away and decide to exact my revenge sooner rather than later.

After I was settled that first week, I put my acting skills to work to ask questions around town about Marie. I used every cover story that came to mind to get any bit of information I could.

Finally, after all of my investigating, I was able to gather enough information to deduce that Marie worked as a teacher at Forks Elementary School. From the school's website, I learned school started at 8:30, and let out at 3:20. I drove to Forks Elementary the very next night after learning what school she worked at and scoped the place out, using a flashlight to look everything over.

It was a small little brick building surrounded by grass and old, tall trees. It was two floors, no more than twenty five classrooms. There were three exits; double doors at the front and two common entrances at the back of the building. I made note of the perfect place to park my car and watch for Marie the next morning, and returned to my motel room to rest up. I had a busy day ahead of me...

Knowing Marie and her need to always be early, I knew that she'd be at school an hour before classes began. I parked my shit-box car across the street with a perfect view of the main entrance and the school's parking lot and shut off the engine. I looked around and determined that I didn't look completely out of place, since there was another car parked a few feet away from me. I glanced at my watch; it was 7:15 am. She would be arriving at the school any time now.

I pulled the lever on the seat and it flopped back so that only the top of my head peeked out over the window. Marie had never been very astute or observant of her surroundings, but she had never had a backbone either, so that may have changed in the year that we had been apart. I didn't want to take any chances with her recognizing me.

My patience was rewarded about ten minutes later when a dark green Volkswagen rolled into the parking lot. I could tell that it was a manual transmission by the way the engine whined, so at first I didn't think it was her. She had never driven a stick shift before because it was too difficult for a woman to understand, especially a woman such as Marie had been. But as the woman inside the car gathered her things together and opened the door, I knew immediately I was staring at my presumed-dead wife, Marie.

She closed the driver's side door behind her, then opened the back door on the driver's side, pulled out a black messenger bag, and slung it over her shoulder gently, the strap nestling between her breasts. It was then that I was able to pay attention to what she was wearing; from my distance, I could see that her feet were adorned with black shoes with a reasonable heel, she had on a knee-length grey skirt and black stockings, and she wore a royal blue blouse under her thin, unzipped spring jacket. She closed the door to the car and started walking towards the entrance of the school. As she walked, her jacket swished back and forth, allowing me an excellent view of the telltale bump that screamed to the world that she carried a bastard child within her. Her hair was shorter and lighter in color, which annoyed me since I had never allowed her to make such drastic changes. I had loved her long, wavy dark brown hair the way it was, and never allowed it to be changed. There was something else about her that irked me: how she walked. As she stepped towards the building, she walked with her head up and shoulders back, as if she had the world at her feet and wanted for nothing. She wore a calm and peaceful smile. She looked comfortable, at ease.

It annoyed the fuck out of me.

I watched her unabashedly until she reached the entrance to the school, when she suddenly looked around her, as if she could feel my eyes upon her, watching her and judging her. I ducked as far as I could into my car, peeking out just a bit to make sure she couldn't see me. She stared at the car for a few moments, and then swept some hair from her face, looking untroubled and un-phased, and entered the school.

I sat in the car for a few more minutes, analyzing the person I had just seen.

She wasn't the wife I had once known. She was different in almost every way. She was driving a manual transmission car, she had a different hair cut, and she wore a skirt...

The most notable difference was that she was undeniably pregnant.

I knew I had heard her mention it to her mother on that fateful phone call, but somehow I was holding onto a sliver of hope that she had been mistaken, or better yet, that she had since lost that child as she had recklessly lost ours. No such luck, though. There she was, her belly in plain view, obviously not caring that she looked like a common whore, carrying a baby out of wedlock. She had no shame whatsoever, otherwise she'd be hiding herself and that bump, or she would have gotten rid of the bastard the instant she had found out.

Rage built up inside me, and I slammed the steering wheel hard with my closed fist, honking the horn by mistake. Before I allowed any more time to pass, I started up the engine and got out of there as fast as the rusted car would go.

* * *

**BPOV**

I woke up that morning with a start. Eyes wide open instantly, I reached over to Edward's side of the bed, only to be reminded that he had worked the overnight shift last night, and he would only be home long after I left the house. I was disappointed that he wasn't there, but I knew I'd see him soon enough, so I stretched a bit before shuffling out of bed and got ready for work.

I drove in to work with a smile on my face because Baby, as I had taken to calling him or her, had fluttered gently as I was eating my small breakfast, and hadn't stopped fluttering since. As I pulled into the parking lot, a shiver ran through me, which was normal considering it was April and it was still a bit chilly out. I ignored the chill and turned off the car. After pulling out my school bag and closing the car door, I walked toward the school in a great mood. Everything was right in the world. Yes, I hadn't woken up with Edward at my side, but that just meant that tomorrow morning he would be there.

Baby shifted around again and I stopped with my hand on the door handle. It wasn't just Baby that made me stop, but a strange feeling with every step I took closer to the school that had me wanting to look around me. I hadn't felt this strange feeling, this tightness in my chest, this shortness of breath, since first moving to Forks. The feeling, which I now knew was irrational paranoia, made my heart jump into my throat and my breathing falter. I tried to take a deep breath and glance around me. All I saw was the usual; the tall larch and juniper trees in the school yard, the principal's car in the parking lot, the two vacant cars parked across the street, and a squirrel running across the front lawn of the school. Nothing out of the ordinary. The deep breath calmed me down, thankfully, and I continued on my way.

I walked into the staff room where our mailboxes were situated and nearly ran into a colleague, Joyce, a middle-aged Native American who taught the second grade. She and I had a good working relationship, and I had even felt comfortable confiding in her when we learned I was pregnant. When Edward proposed and I moved in, I showed her the ring the next day and she hugged me, congratulating me happily. It was a big difference from how I was with my co-workers back in Boston. I had kept everyone at arm's length, never saying more than a casual hello or goodbye, and only when absolutely necessary. That way, they wouldn't have seen the differences in me in the days following one of James' 'bad nights'. I was extremely proud of myself for stepping out of my comfort zone and allowing these relative strangers into my life, albeit slowly. It was a step in the right direction for me.

"Oops! Hi, Bella. Sorry! Didn't see you there!" she apologized.

"Sorry! It was my fault!" I laughed.

"No, no, I was blinded by that massive rock you have on your finger!" Joyce joked. I was laughing in response when I heard a horn honk outside. Curiously, she and I walked the short distance to the window in the staff room that faced the street across. We reached it just in time to see a beige car speeding away from the school.

"Strange," I thought aloud as I returned to my mailbox to retrieve my daily memos.

"That guy was in an awful rush," Joyce commented as she, too, returned to her mailbox. _I could have sworn there had been no one in that car before, _I thought as I flipped through the newsletter that needed to go out to the students that day._ Then again, I hadn't really paid much attention to it..._

The school day passed uneventfully. The paranoia I experienced in the morning never returned, and I arrived home to find Edward setting the table for us, Bolt happily lapping up water from his bowl near the counter, and the house smelling of fresh bread and some sort of cooked beef. I bent down to scratch Bolt's soft head and then was wrapped up in the arms of my loving fiancé from behind.

"Hi, love," he murmured into my neck as he kissed me softly.

"Hi. This smells great. And Baby and I are starving!" I joked, patting my belly. Edward's hands reached lower and covered my own over my belly, something that he did quite often. The connection his hands sought with our baby was so touching and overwhelming at first that I would get teary when he did it — probably due to my early pregnancy hormones. Now it was still sweet, but thankfully less emotion-Inducing.

I hummed with contentment into his embrace.

"I take it you're ready to eat right now, huh?" Edward asked before he released me and kissed my lips. I nodded. "Ok, dinner is nearly ready. You can go relax for a little while. Gimme ten minutes here."

"Ok, thanks, Edward." I left the kitchen and began my ascent up the stairs to our bedroom to change into some yoga pants and a more comfortable top. I got to the bedroom and went directly to the window, as I always did, to look out and see my house across the street. I never really did get nostalgic about the house in which I gained my independence, but it was nice every so often to look at it and remember. As I stood at the window, I began unbuttoning my blouse. I instantly stopped when I saw a beige sedan parked across the street. It reminded me of the car that I saw speeding away from the school that morning. It was a very common make, model _and _colour_, _so it was an incredible coincidence, I told myself. There was no one inside it, so I pushed it out of my mind and continued undressing.

Once I was dressed, I returned to the kitchen and found Edward taking some vegetables out of a boiling pot of water and onto a serving plate. "Take a seat, love," Edward called over his shoulder. I obliged and took my normal seat at Edward's side. He brought over the dishes and sat down.

"Bon appétit," Edward offered, smiling at me fondly.

As we ate, we talked about our day and everything that happened—or didn't happen in my case. I didn't mention the odd coincidence of the car I had just seen outside our house and at school because it was strange, but not note-worthy.

Half way through the meal, Edward's eyes grew wide with excitement.

"I completely forgot to mention this to you," he said as wiped his mouth on his napkin and rose from his seat abruptly. Confusedly, I waited for him to return. A moment later, he came back with a folded neon yellow paper in his hand. He sat down, unfolded the paper, and presented it to me. It was a flyer for a carnival.

"The hospital is hosting it to raise money. There'll be a Ferris wheel, and a merry-go-round, and carnival games. It's next weekend, so hopefully the weather will be warmer by then."

I had to laugh at his enthusiasm. It was so youthful and adorable. I told him as much as I giggled.

"I love carnivals, what can I say?" Edward replied a little defensively. I shook my head and patted his hand.

"I know, sweetie. I wasn't making fun. I like carnivals, too. Kinda reminds me of the Ex back home."

Now it was Edward's turn to be confused. "The Ex?"

I chuckled; it was no surprise that Edward had no idea to what I was referring.

"The Canadian National Exhibition. They hold it for the last two weeks of August in Toronto. It's like a big fair that attracts about a million people each year. I never missed one until I moved to Boston for school." I was smiling, but just thinking about why I missed going to the Ex brought my smile down a notch. Edward noticed.

"Someday you can show me around Toronto, and we'll go to the Ex," he said gently, still smiling. I nodded in agreement. To even dream of going back to Toronto was a nice thought. To bring Edward with me would be even nicer. "For now," Edward continued, "how about the Forks Spring Carnival? You in?"

"Of course. I haven't been on a Ferris wheel in ages."

With that settled, Edward put the flyer for the carnival on the fridge with a magnet and we continued eating our dinner.

* * *

The first day of the carnival arrived, and thankfully the weather had cooperated; I wore a light jacket, a pink v-neck sweater, maternity jeans, and some runners for comfort. Edward was casually dressed in jeans, a dark grey zip-up hooded sweater, and a jean jacket over top.

The carnival was being held upon the large field located behind town hall. This was a great relief for me because it meant that they allowed fairgoers to use the public restrooms in the town hall instead of rented port-o-potties. I had this thing about port-o-potties; if there was _any _other way, I'd use _it_ rather than a port-o-potty...

It was a short drive from home to the fairgrounds, too. Everything seemed to be working in our favour.

Edward looked as jovial as a school boy as we walked hand in hand across the fair grounds and into the heart of the carnival games area. I was sure my expression matched his, too. How could it not? We were surrounded by the tinkling laughter of children and their families as they had a blast at the carnival. Their smiles and shouts of glee filled the atmosphere with a contagious happiness that we were all glad to be taking in.

We had arranged to meet Emmett and Rosalie at the fair, so I started looking out for Edward's big, burly brother and his gorgeous wife. We walked among the crowd of people, most of whom I was beginning to recognize as neighbours, parents of students, and other teachers at my school. I had never had that sense of community before—Toronto was a metropolis where no one knew anyone, and you'd never see the same face twice unless you had the same bus route or worked together. I loved my hometown, but I had begun to really enjoy living in such a small town. Anonymity was great at times, but I was quickly falling in love with the familiarity of Forks.

We walked past a vendor calling out to a young teenaged couple, trying to get the boyfriend to throw some balls at three stacked milk bottles. The boy waved him off with a smile, saying he had no more money. Edward stopped us in front of the booth and smirked.

"Want me to win you a teddy bear, babe?" he questioned, tilting his head in the direction of the vendor who was now watching us with a grin.

"You think you can?" I teased, pushing him toward the booth playfully.

"Yeah, I think so." He let go of my hand, but not before placing a chivalrous kiss on the back of it first. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a five dollar bill from his wallet. Handing it to the vendor, he looked back at me and said, "Watch this."

"Here ya go, buddy," the wiry vendor said as he handed Edward three oversized baseballs and took his money. "Just knock down the bottles and get a prize. Easy stuff, folks!" he called out more for the passersby than for Edward's sake.

Edward flipped the ball in his hand a few times, appraising the ball for any imperfections, it seemed. He took two small steps backward and took a stance much like a baseball pitchers. He looked adorable as he played out the scene; he looked both ways, brought his hands up to his nose, and shook his head to 'wave off the call'. I couldn't help but giggle as he pretended he was a pitcher. It reminded me of the last time I had gone to see the Blue Jays playing at what was then called the Skydome—they had gone and changed the name of it to the Rogers' Centre when the building changed ownership. Finally, he felt the time was right and threw the baseball at the glass bottles, knocking over only the top one.

"Damn!" he shouted.

"That's OK, babe," I encouraged with a clap. "You have two more chances!"

He laughed at himself lightly before taking his stance once again. He wound up this time playfully before tossing the ball into the tower of bottles, knocking all of them down.

"Woo hoo!" he called out proudly, grabbing me in his excitement and hugging me. I laughed as he twirled me around.

"Great job, sir. Here ya go; a prize for the little lady!" the vendor exclaimed happily as he handed me a black and white stuffed bear that was as big as my upper body. I took it by the arm and thanked the vendor, then gave Edward a big kiss of gratitude.

"My hero," I murmured sweetly to him.

"'Twas an honour, milady," he replied, bowing graciously. I giggled and took his hand, leading him toward another booth.

We walked for a few more minutes before Edward sniffed the air and sighed. "Mmm, hot dogs...you hungry? Or would you prefer some of that popcorn over there?"

I looked at both choices and my mouth began to water for the freshly popped popcorn drenched with butter and salt. I blamed the pregnancy on that craving!

"Popcorn sounds good, sweetie."

"Ok, the line up for the popcorn is shorter than the hotdog one, so grab your popcorn and meet me at the hot dog line?"

"Yeah, sounds good, see you in a few minutes." I waved to him and walked over to the popcorn stand, where there were five or six people waiting to be served before me. As I stood there people watching until it was my turn, I couldn't help the shiver that ran through my body. I had felt that shiver before; it was the feeling I got when I thought I felt someone watching me. I threw my arms around my stomach. I knew it was irrational, since I was in the middle of a crowded carnival where everyone was busy walking back and forth, playing games, shouting and having fun, waiting in line for food and tokens. I looked around me, trying to spot something, _anything _that told me I wasn't going insane. Absolutely no one appeared to be out of the ordinary, staring at me, or even stationary. Everyone around me seemed to be in motion, moving at full speed. My breathing became shallow and my heart rate sped up. I was in such a state that I stepped out of the line up and, without a second thought about Edward, ran to the town hall where the restrooms were located. I thought I just needed to splash some water on my face and get a grip on my breathing.

I arrived at the restrooms, and pushed open the door to the ladies' room. It was completely empty thankfully. I hurried into the closest stall to the exit door, closed the door of the stall, and locked it behind me. I sat on the toilet with the lid down, trying to compose myself.

What the hell was wrong with me? I hadn't had these sorts of anxiety attacks for months and months now, since before I had become pregnant. Why were they starting all over again? With my head in my hands and my elbows on my knees, I consciously steadied my breathing.

In through my nose...

Out through my mouth...

In through my nose...

Out through my mouth...

I was in the middle of that internal chant and admittedly feeling a bit better when I heard the door to the restrooms open and a voice call out.

"Bella? You in here?"

It was Rosalie. I let out a breath.

"Yeah," I said shakily, "I'm here." I straightened up and came out of the stall to find a very worried looking Rosalie waiting for me.

"Are you alright? I saw you running this way and called to you, but you looked so freaked out. I guess you didn't hear me calling…"

I walked over to the small sink before the mirrors and turned on the tap. I ran the water as cold as I could bear and splashed some on my face.

"Sorry…I'm better now. I was having an anxiety attack...or something."

"Oh. Emmett and Edward are waiting outside for us. Edward was scared for you. He didn't know what had happened to you."

I had completely forgotten that Edward would have been waiting for me in the lineup as we had agreed. I smacked my forehead with my palm and exhaled.

"God, I'm so sorry. I just started to feel anxious and couldn't breathe."

Rosalie's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "What sparked this feeling, hun?" she asked, stepping closer to me and putting a sympathetic hand on my shoulder.

_Should I tell her I thought I was being watched? _All signs pointed to yes.

"I...I felt someone staring at me. I know I was in the middle of a crowded carnival, but I just needed to get out of there. It's crazy, I know," I reasoned. Rosalie shook her head at that.

"It's not crazy at all, Bella. You went through a terrible ordeal."

"Yeah, but I haven't had a panic attack since August. There's absolutely no reason for me to feel this way." I went back to the sink and ran the water, putting my cupped hands under the cold stream and patting my face with my dripping wet hands again. I shut off the water and stared at myself in the mirror. "It must be a pregnant woman thing," I explained to Rosalie through the mirror, though I was pretty sure this paranoia had nothing to do with being pregnant.

"Whatever the reason for it, how are you feeling now? Better?"

I took a breath before answering. "Yes, actually. The water and the moments alone helped."

Rosalie smiled sincerely at me. "Good. We were worried about you," she said, sighing. "You ready to get back to our boys?"

"Yeah, I think I'm good." I dried my hands on my jeans and followed her out of the restroom. True to Rosalie's word, both Emmett and Edward were standing rigidly right outside the doors, arms crossed, looking like restroom bouncers. When I stepped out, Edward instantly rushed to me and took my face in his hands.

"Are you ok, baby?" he asked, looking me over anxiously, pushing hair from my face lovingly. "I didn't know where you went, then Emmett found me and told me Rosalie followed you to the bathrooms. Do you want to go home?"

I felt slightly embarrassed at his concern, and that of Emmett and Rosalie, too. I took Edward's hands from my face and gripped them. "I'm fine, sweetie. And no, I don't want to go home yet. I had a panic attack, but I just needed a little water and I'm fine now," I replied. He didn't believe me, so I tried again. "Really, you guys," I looked at Emmett and Rosalie then, "I'm fine now."

Wordlessly, Edward took me into his arms and gave me a squeeze before releasing me and kissing my forehead. "I'm sorry I'm over-reacting. You know I worry about you and the baby," he explained with an embarrassed grin.

"We all worried, Bells," Emmett chimed in. "You scared us. I wanted to make sure you and my nephew were OK." His eyebrows rose and lowered in a sneaky way, causing us to laugh at him.

"_'Bells_?'" I retorted. I wouldn't even touch the 'nephew' comment for the time being...

"Sure," Emmett defended. "When you guys first got together, Eddie here described your laugh as the sound a bell made when it was rung, so..."

Edward's face grew bright red at his brother's words, which I realized had never happened before. Rosalie and I both dropped our jaws and giggled at the interaction between the brothers.

"For the millionth time, do NOT call me Eddie! And that shit was private talk, man!" Edward complained to his brother, punching him half-playfully in the arm. I had never seen him so embarrassed, so I knew I needed to step in.

"Bells, huh, babe?" I asked him, rubbing his arm and smiling sweetly. "Well, I think it's adorable. Thank you, sweetie."

He looked chagrinned. "It's true, love. But now I know never to tell shit like that to Emmett again!"

"Whatever, dude! You will keep telling me all your little secrets because you love your little brother and you tell him everything!" He laughed boisterously until Edward gave him a dirty look and released my hand.

"I'm gonna kick your ass, little brother. Watch yourself!" he threatened with a smirk.

"Oh yeah? I'd like to see you try, _Eddie_!" Emmett goaded, emphasizing the nickname.

"That's it! You better run, bro!" With that, Emmett laughed and took off, running back towards the rest of the carnival. Edward was hot on his tail, chasing him with a goofy, carefree smile. They reminded me of teenagers.

As Edward chased after his brother, Rosalie and I followed, walking behind them slowly, still keeping them within view.

"You sure you're alright, Bella?" Rosalie asked putting an arm around my shoulder soothingly. It was a very sweet gesture that I absolutely appreciated, coming from Rosalie.

"Yeah, I am. I just needed to get away from the crowd."

"If it happens again, I think talking about it would help. I'm just down the road," she reminded me.

"Thanks," I said gratefully. "I think I'll take you up on your offer someday." Rosalie smiled genuinely and we continued our walk. The boys had led us back to the Ferris wheel and stopped chasing each other to wait for us there.

"Let's go, babe!" Emmett called out excitedly, pointing to the wheel spinning slowly behind him. Rosalie laughed and nodded.

"You up for this?" she asked me. I smiled and nodded.

"Yup. Edward's been talking about the Ferris wheel since he learned they were having the carnival." I stopped in front of Edward. Before I took his hand, I grabbed Rosalie and pulled her into a hug. "Thanks," I whispered. I heard her chuckle lightly as she ran her hand up and down my back softly.

"No problem, Bells."

"You, too, huh?" I laughed as I released her. She nodded proudly and turned back toward Emmett.

"It fits," Rosalie replied. Emmett was already buying tickets for the Ferris wheel. Edward, who had watched the whole exchange, stepped forward and took one look at me before giving me a light kiss on my lips.

"Let's get tickets for the Ferris wheel and the merry-go-round."

I followed him into the line to get the tickets, all the while holding onto his hand for dear life. Once the tickets were purchased, we went on the Ferris wheel. The teenage boy helping fairgoers onto the wheel helped secure the harness after we sat down and patted the car twice. Edward settled into his seat, putting his arm around my shoulders. I leaned my head on his shoulder and sighed.

A few minutes later, Edward and I were half-way up the wheel's rotation and the ride began. Slowly, the wheel turned and we were presented with a beautiful view of Forks from sixty five feet off the ground. As the wheel moved us up and then back around again, Edward kissed my temple and held me as close as possible.

"What do you think of Nathaniel?" Edward asked as we continued to move in our little car on the wheel.

"Who's Nathaniel?" I asked, confused. He made a funny sort of noise.

"No, I mean, what do you think of the name _Nathaniel_ for the baby?"

We hadn't actually talked about baby names yet, so this had come out of nowhere. I loved his enthusiasm, though.

"Oh...hmm," I pondered. "_Nathaniel Cullen. _I like the way that sounds, babe. And what if it's a girl? Any ideas?"

Edward chuckled. "No, I haven't been thinking about girl names. I'm actually with Emmett on this; I have a feeling that there's a boy in there," he replied, reaching over with his free hand to pat my stomach gently. "Don't you?"

"I haven't gotten any 'feelings' about it. I would love to have a little girl, but I'll be thankful regardless. Besides, regardless of what we have, we'll have to try again anyway with our next baby," I said, watching Edward's reaction from the corner of my eye. I saw his smile widen and him nod.

"You're right about that, love. Well, now that we're on the subject, what about...Elena for a girl's name?"

"I like that, too. We'll have to think about those some more." I sighed. "I can't wait for our baby to come."

"Neither can I," Edward answered. "Our family is nearly complete." He sounded wistful. "I love you, baby. More than you will ever know."

"Oh, I think I know," I mused getting even closer to him. "I love you, too. Now that I think about it, did you want to find out what we're having early at the next ultrasound? That way, we can be prepared for his or her arrival properly."

Edward looked thoughtful for a moment, and then beamed at me. "I'd love to. Only if you're willing to let go of the element of surprise..."

"I am. Like I said, as long as he or she is healthy, and has all ten fingers and all ten toes, I'll be happy with whatever gender we get. But yeah, I think I'd like to know. It's practical."

"Great!" Edward exclaimed, holding me closer to him. "I can't wait to find out. We can schedule it for sometime next week." I nodded and smiled at him.

"Perfect."

I kept my head resting against Edward's shoulder for the duration of the ride, taking in the sight before us, and relishing in Edward's soothing touch. Intermittently, we would kiss each other lovingly. The ride came to an end all too soon, and slowly our car reached the ground and we stepped out.

Maybe it had been because of our talk about baby names, or maybe it was because of my anxiety attack earlier, but he seemed all the more protective of me for the rest of the evening. He helped me out of the car, steered me around divots in the ground that might have caused me to fall, was mindful of everyone around us, and never let go of my hand.

Before we reached the merry-go-round, I asked him what caused this surge in protectiveness. Edward simply shrugged and said, "I don't know what exactly it was, but I felt like I shouldn't let you go."

We took a seat in one of the lower cars on the merry-go-round, while Emmett and Rosalie sat on a large horse. The ride began spinning us around, and the standard organ music filled the air. Again, Edward and I snuggled close together, his arm around my shoulder and his free hand holding mine in my lap. Two rotations into the ride, Edward leaned in and began kissing the skin right below my ear. I could hear his breathing speeding up slightly, and a quiet moan coming from him every time his lips grazed me. He was getting excited. I put our joined hands on his knee and moved my hand slowly up his inner thigh. His sharp intake of breath told me he was becoming increasingly aroused the closer my hand got to his groin. I stopped short of my destination and glanced up at him.

"Does someone need to go home and be put to bed?" I asked in a quiet but seductive voice. Edward simply nodded.

"Good. Me, too." I continued the ride with my hand dangerously close to his increasingly pronounced erection. Thankfully, the ride had been nearly over when his kisses began.

As the merry-go-round slowed to a stop, Edward helped me stand up and step down from the platform. We found Rosalie and Emmett and made up an excuse about me being tired. After all, five and a half months was beginning to take its toll on my body. Luckily, I knew I would find some spare energy once my fiancé and I returned home.

Rosalie pulled me into a hug and reminded me to call her if I needed anything, while Emmett patted Edward on the back, telling him to 'take care of Bells'. Edward nodded, kissed Rosalie on the cheek, and took my hand to make our way back to his Volvo.

"That was fun," Edward commented as we walked back to the car. "I'm glad we came."

"I am, too. Sorry for my freak out before. It almost ruined the day."

We reached the car and Edward stopped me before I got into the passenger side. He brought his hands to either side of my body and smiled. Pressing his hardness against me as he leaned in, he kissed my lips once before saying, "Don't apologize, Bella. You didn't ruin anything. We still had fun, even though you scared the bejeezus out of me when you disappeared," he said, resting his forehead on mine and closing his eyes. "I didn't know what to think. I..." he sighed, trying to find the right words, then continued. "I thought someone had taken you. It's ridiculous, I know, but that was the first thought that came to mind. I thought _he _had found you and...and...I'm sorry for thinking that but—"

I had to stop his anxious rambling, so I cut him off by wrapping my arms around his waist and shaking him gently; forcing him to open his eyes and look at me. "Hey, I'm the only one who's allowed to be paranoid in this relationship, baby," I joked lightly. Edward gave me a small smile to show he knew I was kidding. I continued on a more serious note. "I understand, though. I've been having strange feelings all day. The only reason I could think of is because I'm not used to being surrounded by so many people in a day."

He sighed. "When I couldn't find you, I started thinking that I hadn't kept you safe, that I broke my promise to you," Edward replied. "I promised you that I'd keep you safe, and I had failed."

I took his face in my hands and looked into his sad green eyes. "I'm here, I'm safe with you, and I'm not going anywhere. _He_ can't hurt us when we're together," I reassured.

"Then we'll never be apart, love." He took my left hand down from his face and rolled my engagement ring around on my finger with his thumb. "I know we're going to wait to get married, but really, all it is a promise to each other. So, without all the pomp and circumstance, here's my promise to you—" he looked into my eyes then and sucked in a deep breath before continuing, "—I promise to love you and protect you for the rest of my life. Come what may, I'll be here for you and our children until the day I die."

At the mention of our future children, I felt my eyes grow moist with tears of happiness. Instead of replying in words, I placed my lips upon his and showed him how much I appreciated them. Our kiss grew more urgent and passionate until I felt Edward laugh and pull away.

"I take it you accept my promise," he asked with a smirk.

"Absolutely. Let's go home and I can show you how much I reciprocate your promise."

Edward nodded and helped me into the car. Within a few minutes, we arrived home and made love the rest of the evening.

* * *

**James POV**

I had heard about the carnival type event happening in the town, and saw that my wife and her boyfriend were planning on attending. I put on a thick woolen toque, a black hooded sweatshirt, and dark jeans—an outfit I would have never worn before revenge became the driving force in my life—and prepared to stalk my prey.

I kept a safe distance between my car and the Volvo. As I drove, I had to admit to myself that this boy had good taste in cars; his model Volvo had been highly rated and had won countless awards for performance. I still preferred my Mercedes, but the Volvo was a good choice, too.

They parked and exited the car hand in hand, which made me want to take out the gun in my waistband and shoot them both between the eyes. I knew, however, that if I did that, I would never be satisfied with their end. I had to do this on my own terms, not theirs. And Marie had to be made to suffer; a gunshot to the head wouldn't give her the same sort of awareness that seeing me before her death would. It would be over too soon, and she deserved far worse than a quick death. For leaving me as she did, she would be begging for her life and that of her bastard child and its father. She would beg until I watched the last ounce of life draining from her body. She would be sent to the afterlife—if there was one, that is—with the vivid image of the father of her child, her _precious _Edward, struggling for breath and covered in blood. Well, if I chose that I wanted to kill her so soon after. My final decision hadn't been made yet. I was unsure yet if I wanted to drag her down south and start over with her or if I wanted to just kill her in Forks.

Only the next few weeks would tell me how long I wanted to torment and terrify her.

I left my car and walked behind them, giving them a five hundred yard head start. I observed as they walked past a few carnival games and when they seemed to be stopping at a ball-toss game, I joined the line to buy some cotton candy so as not to look completely out of place at a carnival. As I paid for my cotton candy, I kept my eyes on the couple; he was paying the tall, lean carnie to play the game while she was standing back, preparing to watch him throw the balls. I took my snack from the cashier and turned back to see Edward hugging Marie excitedly, as if he had never knocked something over with a ball before. I rolled my eyes at the display and took a bite of the candy. As the blue, sugary confection dissolved in my mouth, I saw the two of them walk toward the popcorn and hotdog booths and then separate. I had the perfect opportunity then to grab Marie if I wanted to, since there were so many hordes of people moving this way and that; no one would even notice me pulling Marie away from it all...

I watched her for what felt like an eternity, and memorized the face I saw before me as I did. From top to bottom, there were things about her that were so different, but also the same as what I remembered. Yes, her hair had been cut, but it accentuated her flawless alabaster skin and the rise of her cheekbones. There was a certain sort of rosiness in her cheeks that hadn't been there in Boston. She looked more alive, more animated than what I remembered. Her eyes were bright with excitement and happiness. It appeared that living in this drab little town seemed to have changed her appearance as well as the way she carried herself. As I continued noting all the new things about her, I realized that she was quickly growing anxious and her breathing was becoming labored. Her eyes darted back and forth. I remembered when she would look at me like that; she was growing terrified, and I was sure that my staring at her was the cause. She almost looked me dead in the eye, but in her fright, looked away without so much as a second glance. I doubt she would have recognized me with the strange clothing I was wearing to conceal my identity. Wishing to get a better look at her, I took a step forward, but she suddenly turned away and ran towards the town square. I had no idea where she was going, so I followed her, making sure Edward had remained in line for his hotdog. He had, so I continued.

Marie passed a sign pointing towards the bathrooms, and I saw her change her course towards them. I kept a large enough distance between the two of us so that no one would even think that I was following her. Finally, she reached the hallway where the bathrooms were located and ran into the ladies' room. Right before she entered, I heard a woman calling her by her fake name.

"Bella!" the tall blonde called as she ran past me. Hot on her heels, Edward and a muscular man with dark hair followed and went to stand by the bathroom entrance, awaiting news from the blonde, no doubt. I leaned up against a tree and pulled my hood down almost completely over my eyes, still making sure the bathrooms were within full view. Edward and the tall man looked nervous and worried. Their posture gave their emotions away; Edward was pacing in front of the other man, while the brute had his arms crossed, and was trying to calm Edward down. Both men's eyebrows were furrowed and drawn close together. These two men presented their feelings upon their sleeves, and I knew that if it came down to it they could be bested with little effort. I was not a man who cared about emotions and that always worked to my advantage when being attacked.

"Edward, man, Rose's in there with her. She's probably fine," I could hear the larger of the two men say. Marie's baby's father shook his head and looked at the other man.

"I can't help but be worried, Em. She's...she's my life," Edward replied, sounding more like a sissy than I thought possible. I had to fight the urge to laugh out loud. I covered my mouth and pretended to cough instead.

"I know, bro. I know," the athletic man answered sympathetically, a hand patting Edward's shoulder in understanding.

_Bro_? Well, I understood now why they were both so worried and so emotional. The weakness must have run in the family.

Moments after, Marie and the blonde came out of the bathroom, and Edward rushed to Marie's side. They spoke in hushed tones as he held her. It made me sick to my stomach to watch this stranger touch my wife so intimately, but I was in no position to act upon my disgust. I would bide my time...

As the couple talked, Emmett took a look around and his eyes came to rest upon me. He had no idea who I was, but I felt it was best if I pretended to be waiting for someone. It was clear that he was gazing at me suspiciously now, so I turned around and made a big production of waving to a group of five or six people walking in the opposite direction towards the carnival.

"Wait up, guys!" I called, trying to give myself a Southern accent in case Marie heard my voice, and trotted over to the group, walking along side them without their awareness just long enough for Emmett's eyes to find more interesting things to look at.

I glanced back and he and his brother were chasing each other like children. I rolled my eyes and took in another bite of the cotton candy in my hand.

Once I was back in the carnival area, I fell back slowly from the unsuspecting crowd of 'friends' I had just acquired and leaned against the water gun game booth, looking for Marie and her party. It didn't take very long for me to find them. They were on the Ferris wheel, in each other's arms. I could see their lips moving and Edward patting Marie's stomach. No doubt they were discussing the baby. They were smiling at each other too much for my liking, and when they began kissing like teenagers, I decided I had had enough and left in a huff, throwing my cotton candy on the ground.

Marie had had a panic attack of some sort, so my mission for the day had been accomplished. I hadn't been seen by anyone of interest, which was a bonus. My cover was still intact. I went back to my motel room to plan out my next step.


	25. All Time Low

_I'm not Stephenie Meyer. This story is written for entertainment, not profit...don't sue me. Pretty please? Keep in mind that James' opinions are not my own. I'm just tapping into a warped side of my brain that I've never set foot upon before..._

As always, thanks to Meghan for beta'ing. Love ya!

I've volunteered to write a (sexy) Victim one-shot in support of our friends in Australia in participation with the** "Fandoms Fights the Floods" **inititive. Over 200 authors have donated their time to this cause. They're compiling hundreds of one shots and the like. For a $5 (or more) donation to the charity of your choice (that is helping with the victims of the floods in Queensland), you will get a copy of this compilation emailed to you!

_(My one-shot will be a citrusy adventure in the kitchen for our beloved Edward and Bella. It will be a bit more raunchy than my other lemons...donate!)_

For more information, please go to:

fandomsfightthefloods [.] blogspot [.] com

Also, please see my end note for my recommendations for some sexy stories. You won't regret it!

Ok, on to the chapter...it's ALL James' POV, so enjoy a tour through his sick mind...

* * *

**James POV**

I didn't have to drive around the podunk town of Forks for very long before I found my wife and her new place of residence.

I hadn't waited to follow her home from work since I didn't want to look suspicious. Days before watching her enter the school, I had tried searching the local directories for an address for Isabella Swan, but she had been smart enough to keep her address and phone numbers unlisted. As for her boyfriend, all I knew was his first name, which wasn't much to go on. Even in a town this small, a search based solely on a first name would take hours. Thankfully, using the knowledge I had acquired during my time with my less reputable clients back in Boston, I knew how to hack into a database and gain the information I needed quicker than waiting for an internet search to yield minimal results.

The employee records at the school listed an address on Cedar Glen Gate for Isabella Swan. While Marie was at work, I drove to the address I had for her and scoped out where she had been hiding all these months.

I pulled up to the house slowly, making sure I was at the right location by double checking my written directions. What I saw before me was a small house with a small porch and an even smaller garage. There were bright white curtains hanging in the windows, and the front door had a flowery wreath. Deciding that I needed a better perspective, I shut off the car and walked toward the house, glancing around me occasionally to see whether anyone was watching me. No one that I could see was around, so I continued.

I gained access through the back door using an old credit card to jimmy the lock. It was a quick and quiet way to get in without disturbing the doorframe. I popped the credit card back in my pocket and opened the door slowly.

As I stepped in, I was assaulted by the smell I had long since forgotten - Marie's natural aroma. I breathed it in greedily and exhaled, only to breathe her essence in again. Her scent was all around me. I walked through the kitchen, glancing around briefly before entering the dining room, then walking down the hallway toward the front door. She was everywhere in this place, not only in scent, but in design, too. Her little touches were distinct to me. This was where she lived; of that I had absolutely no doubt.

I strolled through the living room, admiring the furniture that was old but well-maintained, and the sort of knick knacks that Marie had originally wanted to display in our house; she had no one telling her those were useless and in poor taste here, so they were displayed proudly.

I climbed the stairs, listening as my feet caused the worn steps to creak ever so slightly beneath them. Marie's scent continued to greet me, even as I reached the top level of the small house. I bypassed every other room and found the master bedroom - if one would be so bold as to call it a 'master bedroom', since it was no bigger than the powder room in Marie's and my old house. Beams of sunlight shone through the window, giving the room an ethereal feeling. I shielded my eyes with my hand as they adjusted to the bright sunlight and darted around the room in search of the bed.

So, this was where she slept as she hid from me. Her bastard child was probably conceived in this very room. That thought alone made me furious, the bile rising to my mouth.

I crouched low to the ground and ran my hand over the bedspread, noting the lack of quality in it. It definitely wasn't anywhere near that of the thousand thread count Egyptian cotton duvet we had once had adorning our bed. My hand continued to travel across the bed until it reached the corner that was tucked in under the mattress. She even made the bed the same way as she had in Boston. I gently pulled back the bedspread and shook my head angrily as I saw that the pillowcases were white, and the sheets were a tanned color. She really had changed while in this small town. She had forgotten all the rules I had set for her. Once she found herself single, she did everything that she could to rebel against all that we had together.

I took one last look at the room after I had set everything as it had been before, and left the upper floor, continuing to take in deep breaths of Marie's scent. I returned to the kitchen and, for a reason I couldn't place, I opened the refrigerator. I was taken aback when I saw that the fridge was practically empty. The only things in it were an opened box of baking soda, a half-empty bottle of ketchup and mustard, and a jar of mayonnaise. The freezer was even emptier.

_What the fuck?_

She lived here, so why were the refrigerator and freezer so empty? I knew the one place that would tell me for certain whether she truly lived here or not; her closet. A woman needed clothes and makeup like she needed to breathe; she would be nothing without these things. I dashed up the stairs again, paying less attention to the sounds my feet made this time and more attention to how quickly I reached my destination.

I returned to her bedroom and practically tore open the closet. It was completely empty. Not even hangers remained there. I turned and pulled at the first drawer on the dresser my hands could reach and found the same thing: nothing. No folded shirts, no undergarments, nothing. Every drawer was the same. I went to the bathroom to see if she had kept any of her personal grooming items here, but found nothing there either; no hair brushes, no creams, no toiletries, no toothpaste even. It was as if she kept up the appearance that she lived there, but had taken her clothing and personal belongings with her wherever she had gone. Now that she was pregnant, perhaps she had moved in with her boyfriend, only compounding her crimes against me.

I took another few deep breaths of the lingering essence of Marie before leaving the house entirely. I returned to my car worked up into such a state that I needed to take a few more deep breaths once inside the car to calm down. As I tried to control myself, I watched as a familiar silver Volvo drove toward me.

_The boyfriend_, Edward_. How fucking priceless._

At first, I thought he was going to pull into Marie's driveway. However, he did just the opposite; he pulled into the driveway of a house almost directly across the street from Marie's. I slinked low in my seat to avoid detection and peered over the door.

It was definitely him; the red-brown hair, the self-satisfied expression, the reliable Volvo. He lived across the street from Marie.

As I watched him leave his car and enter the house, I had to laugh at the ridiculousness of it all. I gripped the steering wheel before me and laughed almost maniacally. I laughed mainly at the dumb luck I was encountering. If I were a superstitious man, I would have started to believe that an otherworldly force was helping me exact my revenge. As I was a logical man who believed that I made my own luck, I shrugged it off and knew that all this 'good luck' was just coincidental.

I settled down after a few minutes and decided to wait until either he left the house, or until Marie came by. After all, she had to come by to see the father of her child sometime. I had nothing but time to wait there.

Finally, four hours later, Marie's green Volkswagen came around the bend and drove toward Edward's house. The car slowed and turned onto Edward's driveway, where it stopped and parked. Moments later, she got out of the car with her messenger bag over her shoulder and a set of keys in hand.

I watched as she entered the house using the keys and closed the door behind her. That was all the confirmation I needed.

She was living with this man in his house.

The moment Marie went into the house, I got out of the car and went back into her old house; now that I knew where she was living for certain, I would start making my final plans for her.

* * *

_Early June_

I watched, I waited, and most importantly, I planned.

I knew Marie was growing complacent. She had no reason to believe I was on to her, so there was no reason for her to be worried or scared of detection. After my first few weeks of watching her and her lover every day, I realized that she was best left in the dark. The terror she'd feel when we came face to face would be amplified to the umpteenth degree if she had no idea I was coming for her, unlike if she realized that I had been watching her for weeks before. My plan was quickly altered when I decided I'd lay in wait for the appropriate moment to pounce on her when she was her most vulnerable.

Every day that I watched her, I noted visible changes to her body that only her husband would be keen to. While I had never actually complimented her on her body while we were married, secretly I had always found it to be nearly free of imperfections. No scars besides the ones I had had to give her for her disobedience. Her breasts were just the right size for her body, pert and firm. Her waist was slim, her hips ready to bear a child. Her stomach was flat and toned, but not overly so.

Even from my spot in the distance, I could easily make out the new growth of her belly and her breasts. The sight of her made my mouth water and my cock harden, which infuriated me to no end. This was the woman that faked her own death to leave me! The hatred I felt for her and the position she had put me in were more intense than the hottest fires of Hell. I should have been repulsed by her appearance and everything about it. Instead, watching her day in and day out had weakened me and strengthened my libido. I had never been one to give in to those primal urges to pleasure myself before, but seeing Marie started a chain reaction within me that needed to be dealt with on a daily basis. As such, I began masturbating at least twice a day to attempt to relieve the pressure that seeing her created. After a few weeks of this routine, I grew tired of relieving myself and sought out the company of a woman who would be willing to do it for me.

It was a Friday evening. I drove to a less-than-reputable bar on the outskirts of town and waited.

I sat at the bar of the dingy, dark establishment and ordered a scotch, neat. I didn't give myself enough time to nurse the drink as I normally did, and ordered another one and another one. Before an hour was up, I had already drunk four of them, and the effects of the alcohol were only adding to my sexual frustration and need. As I sat there, drinking my scotch alone, I watched the endless parade of morally corrupt youth enter and pick their poisons for the night, whether they were of the opposite sex (or of the same sex for some of the more adventurous of the bunch) or the alcoholic variety. I saw how they paired off, going into different corners of the bar to do what they came to do. It wasn't the sort of establishment that frowned upon public lewdness, as I came to understand by watching the clientele and how they moved together. The women - or in some cases girls - were brazen and unabashed as they spoke to their partners, whispering their seductive words in the men's ears, some perched upon their would-be lover's laps, others hunched over suggestively for the world to catch a glimpse of the cleavage their newest push-up bra afforded them. For their part, the men were no angels either; they listened attentively and whispered right back. Some groped their dates blatantly, voyeurs be damned, while others practically undressed them with their eyes, no doubt envisioning what would be happening later on.

Though the place was dark and smoky, my senses were being bombarded. The non-descript rock music coming from some speakers over the bar blared noisily, making the lyrics undecipherable - not that I cared what they said. Over the time I resided at the bar with my drinks, I smelled the distinct scent of marijuana more and more wafting through the air. Add those things to the buzz my scotch had provided, not to mention the lust I was already feeling, and I was ready to find myself a willing body to use, fill, and dispose of.

A statuesque girl - no older than twenty-five - with wile red hair, tight jeans and a black motorcycle jacket came sauntering into the bar around midnight. She had a fire in her green eyes that screamed she was looking for trouble, and as her eyes fell upon me; she appeared to have found what she was looking for. Sighting her prey for the evening, she came stalking towards me and straddled the empty stool next to me.

I could tell that she was the perfect candidate for what I needed tonight.

"Hey, handsome," she crooned, scooting closer to me to whisper in my ear. "You here with anybody?" she asked, though I had the feeling she was the type of woman who'd continue her advances, despite my answer. I shook my head in reply and she crept closer to me.

"That's good. Whatcha drinkin'?" she asked with a low, seductive voice.

"Scotch," was my simple reply as I lifted the glass and brought it to my lips.

She boldly reached over and took the glass from my hand, downing the rest of its contents. She hissed as she brought the glass back down on the bar top, slamming it hard, and shutting her eyes tightly and throwing her head back to feel the burn of the alcohol. Lust clouded her eyes when they opened again. I had to admit that she was a beautiful woman. She was nothing compared to Marie - the complete opposite, actually - but she'd fulfil my needs for tonight.

I decided to be brass. I leaned forward and whispered in my roughest voice, "Want to get out of here?"

I could tell, even in my semi-drunken haze, that she wanted to say yes immediately, but she eyed me speculatively instead.

"You got money?"

Ah, so she was a professional. That accounted for the expensive leather jacket and the permanent look of desire on her made-up face. It also helped make sense of the fact that she had sauntered in here like a woman on a mission; her mission was to find herself work for the night. I was so pent up and needed so badly to feel a release that I dug my hand into my back pocket and pulled out a small wad of cash on a money clip. The bills on that clip alone would show her that I had enough cash to solicit her services three times over. As I brought the money up to her eye level, her eyes lit up like an explosion. She nodded and smiled licentiously.

"Fuck yes, let's go," she moaned, getting up from her seat and pulling me up with her. I pulled a few bills from the clip to pay my bar tab and slapped them down on the wooden top.

I awoke in a strange bed in a trashed motel room. The heavy motel curtains were drawn, a sliver of sunlight peeking between them and beaming down onto the soiled carpet, the only indication that it was morning. I sat up a little too quickly and was greeted with a throbbing headache, the product of consuming far too much alcohol. I put my hands to my head, as if the action would alleviate the ache in my temples. I turned to my right to find the woman I had fucked the night before laying asleep beside me, thoroughly sated and probably sore from the pounding she had received. The night was a hazy blur in my mind, but what stood out to me was the fact that I had taken my aggressions, both sexual and otherwise, out on her - what was her name? I had used her body in almost every possible way, and had myself been brought to release five times. The memory of the night was a bit clearer when I saw the handcuffs hanging off the bedpost and the black leather whip draped over the lamp. It refreshed my memory thoroughly; she had enjoyed every raunchy, erotic moment of what we did together. The whip and handcuffs were items that she had brought with her at no extra charge. Most of my thrusts were met by her own bucking; my growls matched by her own screams of pleasure, and my profanities overshadowed by her more descriptive ones. I even remembered thinking while she sucked my cock, that she was a true professional; she never attempted to make things intimate by kissing me or calling me by a pet name. And she was highly skilled in her craft, swivelling her hips and her tongue in ways I had forgotten were possible since I hadn't had sex since the month before Marie had 'died'.

Despite the alcohol still coursing through my blood, the evening we spent fucking came into focus as I remembered how everything felt, sounded, looked.

Even as I had thoroughly fucked this woman who I now remembered was named Victoria, I had had my wife at the forefront of my mind, comparing their bodies, their skills, their enthusiasm. In my still-inebriated state, I shifted beside her and took in the room with growing contempt - clothes strewn here and there, bed sheets nearly pulled clean off the bed, bottles of vodka laying empty on the floor, and the sight that disgusted me the most, Victoria herself dozing contentedly at my side.

She was nothing like my Marie.

_My_ Marie.

What the fuck was I thinking? In this godforsaken place, she wasn't mine; at least she didn't act like she was mine. She was playing house with that insufferable prick under a new name and a new life, succeeding in forgetting all about me.

I had left my privileged life in Boston, practically quit my job, liquidated all my assets, and travelled across the country to the backwater town that was Forks, Washington. I had uprooted my entire life because my whore of a wife wanted to turn her back on me and her responsibilities to me. I now lived out of a suitcase in a dirty old motel room in rural America just to be close to her. And, to add insult to injury, I had just paid a prostitute for sex - me, a man who had never had any trouble getting women to notice me or do things for me. My charm and acting abilities had never steered me wrong, getting me practically anything I wanted with little effort.

I had never needed to pay for sex. I had never needed to stoop so low. I was a lawyer for fuck's sake! I was better than this! Or I had been before my desire for revenge clouded my judgement and made me illogical and lustful.

It was in that moment that my contempt for my situation grew to epic proportions.

I knocked over the lamp on the side table and ripped the phone out of the wall jack. In my rage, Victoria finally jolted awake, wide-eyed and confused.

"What the hell...?" she began, but was silenced by me throwing her purse at her.

"Get the fuck out." A quiet anger simmered in my voice. If she knew what was good for her, she'd take the hint and leave. I had already paid her before she had rendered her services to me, so she had no reason to stay anyway.

Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "But I don't-"

"I said get the fuck out NOW!" I bellowed, hurling one of the empty vodka bottles at the wall, narrowly missing her ducking head.

"You're fucking crazy!" she cried as she scrambled to get out of the bed as quickly as her lethargic arms and legs would allow her. She moved around the room collecting her various pieces of clothing from the floor, slipping on her thong, jeans, blouse and jacket before flipping me the finger and slamming the door behind her as she left. I sat with my elbows planted upon my knees and my head in my hands trying to will my massive hangover to subside, and trying to forget all that had transpired around me in the wrecked motel room. It was no use, though. I was still furious with myself and my situation. I needed some water or something to calm me down.

I went to the bathroom and splashed some cold water on my face. As the droplets slid down my face, I studied my appearance in the dingy mirror that hung under the dim bathroom lights. I looked emaciated. Since arriving in Forks, I hadn't bothered to shave as religiously as I had when I worked at the firm, and my oral hygiene left much to be desired. My eyes were bloodshot from the alcohol, and my nearly shoulder-length blond hair looked grimy and oily.

I looked like a homeless man, which was funny because, to some degree I was.

I ran a hand through it, trying to clear out some of the tangles. I tugged and tugged until I nearly pulled out a chunk. I stopped myself before the strands came out in my hand.

Enraged with how lazy and haggard I had become, I balled my hands into white-knuckled fists and smashed one against the mirror that had just shown me what I _really _looked like, relishing in the adrenaline rush that came with the violence. I took a step back from the sink and brought my hand to eye level. Blood was pouring from various gashes on my knuckles and fingers; countless tiny shards of glass protruded from the wounds.

"Fuck!" I yelled as the pain began to hit me. I ran the water and put my fist under it, watching as the water combined with the blood on my hand and swirled down the sink.

I was losing my fucking mind.

I was barely keeping my rage in check anymore.

If this kept up, I'd attract too much attention, someone would call the police, and I'd be arrested for disturbing the peace. If that happened, my revenge would never be exacted, and everything I'd done to that point would have been for nothing.

This downward spiral into madness and disaster had to end. And the only way to end it was to do what I had come to Washington to do; kill the bitch who sent me down this careening path of chaos. And I had to do it soon if I wanted to maintain the last shreds of sanity I still possessed.

No more fucking around. I had no reason to; I knew where she lived, I knew her schedule, I knew her weaknesses. The only variable was her lover's schedule, which was inconsistent at best. At least I knew he was gone for twelve hours at a time because of his hospital shifts. That was plenty of time alone with her to do as I wished.

I'd use the information at my disposal to toy with her a little first before breaking her and killing her slowly and painfully.

Yes. I made up my mind. I was going to kill her, and enjoy every moment of the glorious torture she had brought upon herself.

I ripped a piece off of one of the bed sheets laying atop the soiled mattress to wrap around my fist to staunch the bleeding until I could get to the pharmacy and grab a few band-aids. The blood was still flowing, and it had already begun to seep through the fabric when I got dressed and left the motel room. I got into my shit-box car and drove back to Forks to finish planning.

If all went well, I'd confront Marie in a few days, and finish what I had started.

* * *

A/N:

Ok, only two more regular chapters or so to go here, people. Yes, that's right! Up next is a chapter in Bella's POV before we get down to the nitty gritty...

My recommendations are as follow (in no particular order because I love them all!):

**Grasping Darkness by KiyaRaven **(NC-17 - E struggles with his lusts - blood and...ahem...ya know...for B)

**Timing is Everything by Stormy0210 **(NC-17 - B is 36 and successful, E is younger and hot...my summary sucks, but the story does NOT!)

**Insider by misskikieg** (NC-17 - Jackson Rathbone is a jerk in this one, but oh so sexy...)

**Righteous & Wicked by xcherryblossomsx **(NC-17 [a pattern is emerging I think...] - B is a conservative Catholic school teacher, E is a sex addict...'nuff said I think)

**Perchance to Dream by NTJB **(NC-17 - B is a NYU student, E is an actor performing Hamlet...sparks fly)

**No Holds Barred by ksjojo **(NC-17 - E owns a bar, B owns the dance studio next door, things get HOT quickly...)

...whew! Did you get all that? These stories are my obsessions right now, and I personally think they aren't getting the attention they so richly deserve, so check them out! These are all on Twilighted, not sure if they are also on FF, but Twilighted is an amazing site (the quality of writing there is just exceptional).

Thank you soooo much for all the kind words over the last year about this story. While I possess nowhere near the caliber of talent that these ladies above do, your reviews and kind words make me feel like I do!

Stay tuned. Chapter 26 is ready and waiting.

Don't forget: go to fandomsfightthefloods [.] blogspot [.] com and donate!


	26. Congratulations & Preparations

**_I'm not Stephenie Meyer. This story is written for entertainment, not profit...don't sue me. Pretty please? _**

As always, thanks to Meghan for beta'ing. Love ya!

I've volunteered to write a (sexy) Victim one-shot in support of our friends in Australia in participation with the** "Fandoms Fights the Floods" **inititive. Over 200 authors have donated their time to this cause. They're compiling hundreds of one shots and the like. For a $5 (or more) donation to the charity of your choice (that is helping with the victims of the floods in Queensland), you will get a copy of this compilation emailed to you!

_(My one-shot will be a citrusy adventure in the kitchen for our beloved Edward and Bella. It will be a bit more raunchy than my other lemons...donate!)_

For more information, please go to fandomsfightthefloods [.] blogspot [.] com

This is just some fluff before the real terror begins...enjoy!

**

* * *

**

[BPOV]

The ultrasound appointment was scheduled at week twenty two of my pregnancy. At that appointment, we'd find out whether we were having a boy or a girl. While I had heard women talk about how it was one of the nicest surprises in life, I knew it would make things so much easier for us if we just found out at five and a half months, instead of three and a half months later. Even though we had gone shopping a few times, we had next to nothing to show for it because we didn't know whether we would have to get girly things, or boyish things. We still had to create a nursery for our baby, which meant getting all the furniture, decorations, and clothing that he or she would grow out of quickly. Knowing the sex of the baby would help us - well, me - decide on a colour scheme for the baby's room, and the sorts of clothes we could begin to get for him or her. Edward was all for knowing the sex of the baby, too. He was sure that we were going to find out that it was a boy, and wanted to be proven right. On the other hand, I didn't care one way or another and was happy to find out.

"Ready to find out, guys?" Dr. Meinheim asked as she put the Doppler over my stomach and began feeling around for the heartbeat of our son or daughter. We both nodded and watched as she moved the wand and found the steady thump-thumping of the tiny heart growing within me. The screen displayed a fairly well-defined black and white silhouette of our baby; the round head, the outline of an arm lifted towards the little mouth, an outline of a tiny little foot. I gasped as I took it all in. Edward simply held my hand and wore an incredibly gorgeous smile.

"Well, let's see if we can confirm the sex," the doctor commented, swirling the wand minutely to change the angle of the view upon the screen. I watched, but became confused when she changed the angle. Edward shared in my confusion.

"Do you understand anything you're seeing?" I whispered to him with a smile.

"Nope," he replied, popping the 'p'.

At length, the doctor finally laughed and motioned to the screen. "Congratulations, mommy and daddy," she said, pressing a button on the screen to freeze the shot, "you are having a boy."

"I knew it!" Edward exclaimed happily. "You're sure, doctor?"

She nodded confidently and pointed to the screen once again. "That there is the outline of his penis."

Edward and I looked at each other with the same dumbfounded look, and then returned to stare at the screen.

"Really?" I had to ask. I didn't see it at all. Dr. Meinheim had obviously heard the same questions before because she shrugged and smiled at the question.

"Yes, I'm sure of it. Congratulations," she said good-naturedly; she hasn't answered the question in an annoyed or irritated way that someone normally would when their judgement was questioned. I was highly thankful for that.

When the doctor left us alone to clean up, Edward stopped me from pulling my shirt down and pulled me into a tight hug - as tightly as he'd allow himself that is.

"You've made me so happy, Bella. You have no idea."

"What, because it's a boy?" I teased, pulling back to watch his reaction. He shook his head.

"Not at all, love. If it was a girl, I'd be just as happy..."

I cocked my head at him, waiting for him to confess just the opposite. I wasn't disappointed. He smirked conspiratorially and laughed, showing me the flats of his palms.

"Ok, ok, maybe I'm a bit happier now that I know it's a boy - a tiny bit. But it's not my fault," he pouted briefly. "I'm a guy; it's in all of us to want boys to continue our legacies."

I had to giggle at that. "What legacy?" I scoffed, shoving him playfully.

"Hey," he said in mock-offense, pointing at his head, "this mop of hair isn't gonna inherit itself!"

"What about that shockingly dazzling crooked smile?" I asked with a huge smile.

"That, too! See?" He paused then, thinking. "He's going to be a stud!"

"Just like his daddy," I murmured.

"I wasn't a stud. I was always too involved with school and my family to think about girls."

"I'm sure they thought about you, though," I scoffed again.

"It doesn't matter, because the only woman that matters to me is you." With that, he silenced any further rebuttal with his lips softly pressed against mine.

We left the doctor's office hand in hand, so happy with the news that our son was growing properly and there were no abnormalities thus far. He helped me into the Volvo and closed the door. When he got into the car through the driver's side and turned on the car, he reversed out of his parking spot and began to drive us home. A few minutes into the drive, Edward reached over the stick shift and held my hand before clearing his throat and saying, "So, now that we know we're having a son, we can discuss names."

"Ok," I agreed, squeezing his hand in response. "What did you have in mind?"

Edward looked a bit sheepish as he kept his eyes on the road. "I kinda still like 'Nathaniel'. Nothing else has really caught my attention."

I cocked my head in mock-suspicion. "You've been looking up names?"

He nodded, glancing at me briefly, "And their meanings."

"Oh." I couldn't believe the initiative that Edward had taken to find names for our son. Wasn't that my job? "What does Nathaniel mean?" I asked curiously as we slowed to a stop in front of a red light.

He beamed at me gloriously before answering, "Gift from God."

I dropped my hand to my stomach and rubbed, nodding. "He absolutely is." I paused, contemplating the name. I envisioned calling our son Nathaniel in various situations–chasing after him as he crawled around the living room, cooing to him as I fed him, calling him to me when he inevitably broke a rule. I even pictured Edward calling out for his son Nathaniel–or Nate for short–when he returned home from work, when he held him, when he changed his diaper.

It was perfect, and I told Edward as much.

"Yeah?" he asked hopefully.

"Yeah."

"So, are we decided?"

"Yes, he's our gift from God. He's our little Nathaniel." At the words, I got teary-eyed and rubbed my stomach again. Those hormones were wreaking havoc on my tear ducts. Edward's hand joined mine on my belly and he gazed up into my eyes briefly but significantly before his gaze returned to the road.

"Our son." Even as he drove, I could see the beginnings of emotion in the corners of his bright green eyes, so I brought his hand to my lips and kissed it to show him that I understood the feelings that were bubbling within him. "I adore you. And Nathaniel." I felt him chuckling quietly to himself. "Nathaniel Cullen. I like the way that sounds."

I grinned, feeling our baby kick at that moment and looking down at my belly. "Ooh, I think he agrees!"

When we returned home from the doctor's office that day, the first thing we did was call our parents - first mine, then his. Both sets of grandparents were thrilled to learn that we were having a son and that everything was normal with his development. We even told them the name that we had decided upon, agreeing that we weren't going to change our minds about it in the next three months. We then called Alice, Jasper, Rosalie, and Emmett to let them know the good news. Alice had been insistent that she be told the minute we found out the sex so that she had an excuse to go shopping. Who were we to deny her the opportunity to shop for Nathaniel? She and Rosalie were excited, and Emmett was already starting to map out the relationship he and his nephew would enjoy, including the sports that he and Nathaniel would play together. I had to laugh when I heard that from Edward. He and I hadn't even discussed the different sports that our son would play, or if he'd play any at all for that matter. Being Canadian, I'd be crazy if I didn't want my son to at least know how to ice skate and play ice hockey. Soccer was a close second, but Edward and I would let our son decide what he'd like to do when that time came. According to my calculations, we had another seven years or so to wait until that time came.

After we got off the phone with all our loved ones, I walked up the stairs to our bedroom and passed by the spare room that was no doubt going to be our son's room.

"We really need to take care of the nursery. July will be here before we know it," I commented, leaning against the doorframe leading into the guest bedroom closest to our bedroom. There were boxes and shopping bags on the floor, the wall was a drab grey colour, and the only pieces of furniture there were a single-sized bed and a night table with a small lamp on it. It had originally been Emmett's old room when the family all lived there. When Edward took the house over, he had converted the room into a guest room, but over the years, he'd neglected to truly turn it into a guest bedroom, opting more for a storage room feeling that happened to have a small bed and table in it, too.

Edward came up behind me and wrapped his arms around me, resting his chin on my shoulder. He took a moment to look over everything in the room and agreed.

"Yeah, I know. This room needs some work for sure. A change table, a dresser, a crib...what colours are you thinking for the walls?"

"Maybe light green? Something fresh and clean-looking. Oh, and bright. We'll have to paint soon, though."

"Uh-uh," Edward negated behind me. "_You_ aren't going to be painting anything. I'll do it, sweetie."

"But I'd like to help if I can-"

"I know you would, but painting isn't something you should be doing in your condition."

"In my condition? For goodness sakes, Edward!" I laughed, turning around to face my fiancé. "I'm not an invalid!"

He had the good sense to look apologetic as he pulled his foot out of his mouth. "I know, Bella. Sorry, I didn't mean to say that you're incapable of doing anything, but paint fumes aren't safe for you to be inhaling, so I'd prefer it if I did the painting and you were out of the house."

"Ok, that works," I conceded. I knew he was just being a protective father, so I let it slide.

He cupped my face in both his hands and leaned in. "I don't mean to be an ass. I love you and I just want to keep you as safe as possible. You know that, don't you?"

"Yeah, I know," I replied genuinely. "And I love you for it. Why don't we talk about the nursery when you get back from the hospital tonight?"

"Good idea, love."

* * *

_Early June _

Edward left for his shift at the hospital early Sunday morning, leaving me with a gentle kiss upon my forehead. I drifted in and out of sleep for what seemed like a few minutes afterward until I finally returned to a deep, restful slumber, warm and comfortable in our bed.

All too soon, I was being woken by the incessant ring of the house phone. I had only recently gotten comfortable with answering the phone in Edward's home; at first, I felt as if I would give something away about my previous life or that it wasn't my place to answer his phone. But Edward didn't let it go and reminded me that this was my home now, too. I had every right to answer the phone because it was my phone line also. After that conversation, I began reluctantly answering the phone, but only after checking the caller ID display first. If it was a name or number that wasn't local or that I didn't recognize, I would let the answering machine pick it up.

Today, I reached over Edward's side of the bed and peered at the ID blearily. It was Alice. I cleared my throat, rubbed the sleep out of my eyes, and answered the phone.

"Hey, Bella," Alice greeted me. "You busy?"

"I was asleep, but no, I'm not busy. Why, what's up?"

"Rose and I were going to have a spa day today, complete with facials, manicures, pedicures, and a massage. They have a 'Pregnancy Package', if you're interested in joining us..." she offered, though it sounded more like a question than a statement of fact.

"I don't know, Alice," I said sceptically.

"Oh, come on!" I pictured Alice pouting on the other end of the phone and laughed. "It'll be fun! And after Nathaniel is born, you'll have more reason to deny yourself," she reasoned, knowing exactly what to say to placate me. "Pleeeeeease?"

I sighed. "What's involved?"

"The regular mani/pedi combo, a gentle facial, and last but not least, a soothing prenatal massage performed by a Registered Massage Therapist. You know you're salivating at the thought already," Alice crooned.

I had never had a massage before, but I had heard that they were a great way to feel relaxed and peaceful. It was a prenatal massage, so it wouldn't be detrimental to the baby. And I couldn't remember the last time I had even had a facial, pedicure or a manicure. It sounded like something that I would enjoy.

"Ok, Alice, sign me up."

She squealed into the phone and giggled. "Awesome! We'll be over to pick you up in ten minutes to have brunch together before going to the spa in Port Angeles. Be ready! Bye!" She didn't give me any time to reply before she hung up the phone.

I shook my head and laughed as I stretched and rose from bed as quickly as my seven-month-pregnant belly would allow without making me lightheaded. I padded to the ensuite where I took care of my morning necessities. I returned to our bedroom and made the bed quickly, knowing that if I did things at my normal pace, Alice would probably arrive before I was dressed.

I took out a baby blue blouse and my maternity yoga pants - a staple of mine since I had become pregnant - and dressed in under a minute. My hair went up in a pony tail and I was walking down the stairs by the time I heard the doorbell ringing.

Alice and Rosalie were standing there with big smiles. "God, Bella! You've gotten so big!" Alice exclaimed, pointing at my 33-week pregnant belly.

Rosalie rolled her eyes with a smirk directed toward Alice. "So tactful," she muttered as she wrapped me in a hug, albeit with difficulty since my belly was getting in the way.

"I don't mind the 'big' talk, Rose," I said honestly as I hugged Rose. "It's true; he's still growing every day."

"Oops! Sorry!" Alice said apologetically. I waved her off, then grabbed her and gave her a hug. As I released her, Alice looked down at the cell phone in her hand - no doubt to look at the time - and grew impatient quickly.

"Ok, girls, enough chit-chat! We have appointments we need to keep! Let's go get pampered!"

"But aren't we going to brunch first?" I asked, confused. Rosalie gave Alice a look that I couldn't decipher before Alice nodded vigorously, recovering quickly.

"Right! But in order to stay on track, we have to have brunch soon, so let's move!"

I locked the front door to the house and grabbed my purse right before they each took one of my hands and pulled me enthusiastically towards Alice's Acura MDX.

Brunch was fantastic. We ate at a small bistro a few blocks away from the spa. I had a massive craving for eggs Benedict and chocolate milk, so that was exactly what I had to eat. Alice, Rosalie, and I kept up conversation that didn't revolve around the baby, which was nice, since I hated to be the centre of attention. We talked about Alice's business and how she was thinking of taking night classes in accounting at the local community college. Rosalie told us about her and Emmett's struggles with trying to conceive. They were thinking about consulting with a fertility clinic in the near future. Alice and I were supportive, admiring their determination and encouraging them to try anything they needed to reach their goal.

After brunch, we headed over to the spa. It was a quiet and peaceful place with pictures of landscapes and tropical beaches on the walls and serene music drifting through the air. Light blues and greys were all over the foyer; the sofa, the pillows, the curtain in the one large storefront window which muted the harsh sunlight streaming in. They gave us robes to wear while all the services were performed, and led us to the manicure/pedicure room. The room smelled of lavender instead of the harsh nail polish removers one would have expected to smell in a nail salon. Before we knew it, we had our feet and hands smooth and polished, our faces fresh and exfoliated, and it was time for our massages. As my massage was a different kind, the attendant brought me to another room. It was darker, but it still smelled of lavender and had instrumental music playing softly.

The middle aged masseuse worked her magic (and I did feel magic) on my muscles and limbs, asking the general questions about my pregnancy at first – was this my first pregnancy? When was I due? Did I know what the sex of the baby was? – and then lulling me to drift in and out of sleep with her gentle touches.

"Bella," the masseuse's soft voice said quietly, waking me from my short massage-induced nap, "we're all done. Go ahead and get changed. Your friends are waiting for you in the lobby. Congratulations again. All the best to you and your son."

I stretched and gave her a bashful smile of thanks before changing and meeting with Alice and Rosalie, who were already paying the bill.

"Guys!" I shouted hotly. "What are you doing? I didn't agree to come here for you guys to pay for my treatments!" I reached over and held cash in front of the cashier, trying to block Alice's attempt to give the woman her credit card.

"Oh, hush, Bella. This was our treat," Alice murmured, a blissful smile playing on her lips, shaking her head at the waiting cashier and waving off my money. "Ignore my friend here. Please put the whole thing on the card I gave you." The cashier smiled sweetly and ran the transaction through. Rosalie stood beside me, smiling conspiratorially as Alice signed the receipt and handed it to the cashier.

"All done! Let's get you home!" Alice said as she took my arm in hers and led me out of the spa. I exited the building, flanked by Rosalie and Alice, the buzz from my massage evaporating due to the stunt they had just pulled. Sure, I didn't have a lot of money, but the last thing I wanted was for them to consider me a charity case. I knew the place was expensive judging by the atmosphere and attention of the staff, and I was fully expecting to pay for my facial, massage, pedicure, and manicure.

As if she had read my mind, Rosalie turned to me before we reached the car and smiled knowingly. "Look, consider it a present. Alice and I wanted to treat you and get you relaxed. We had a feeling you'd never done the whole girly spa day thing before, so we figured it would be a nice change of pace for you. Don't be mad at us, Bells," she asked, using my new nickname sweetly. The pleading look in her eyes made my irritation disappear instantly. I sighed in defeat.

"Alright. You guys should have told me, though. But...I forgive you." I smiled to show them my forgiveness was real. Alice smiled warmly at me and Rosalie and continued walking toward the SUV. It was as if she knew my annoyance with the two of them would pass. _Cheeky_.

We drove back to Forks in blissed-out and companionable silence except for when Alice called Jasper to let him know we were a few minutes away from the house. When we arrived, she parked in the driveway; it was Alice's way of telling me that they intended to come in to the house with me. I didn't mind, but I thought that they might have had other plans for their Sunday afternoon. I knew Edward would be at work for a while still, so the company was fine by me.

I unlocked the front door with my keys and let the ladies in behind me before locking the door. Something immediately was off about the smell in the house; I inhaled and detected something...like paint thinner in the air.

"Do you guys smell that?" I asked turning to Alice and Rosalie. They both took deep breaths of the air and frowned.

"Nope, nothing."

"No, what do you smell?"

"Are you serious?" I asked incredulously, ignoring the question. I put my purse down on the floor in the hallway closet and started walking, inhaling through my nose, trying to locate the source of the smell. I only had to take a few steps to realize that the smell was coming from upstairs. I climbed the stairs, carefully holding the railing; I was so big that I could have easily fallen backward if I had gone up too quickly. I could hear Alice and Rosalie following me up. When I got to the top step, I turned right, towards the bedrooms. Strangely, all the doors were closed. It was strange because we usually kept at least our bedroom door open during the day. I was about to walk towards it when I felt a hand stop me; it was Rosalie. I looked up at her with a frown. She wore a sneaky smile that stunned me into incoherency.

"You may want to check the guest bedroom first."

"Huh?" I asked dumbly. Alice giggled at my response.

"Come on!" Alice said, laughing, pulling me along with her toward the closed door to the room that would eventually be our son's bedroom. I was still confused, but went along anyway. I gripped the handle and opened the door, gasping as it swung open.

There, in the centre of the plastic covered room, stood Edward in his lazy-day jogging pants, a grey UDub hoodie, and in his hand a paint roller. There was a slight smudge of the same baby-green paint that now covered the walls on his cheek. Beside him, Emmett and Jasper stood in their own jogging pants and sweatshirts. Emmett was still holding a paint brush, trying to conceal it behind his back like a naughty child, while Jasper was trying to straighten his hair by running his paint-covered hands over it.

"Ta-da!" Emmett exclaimed, lifting his arms over his head and with them, the paint brush he was hiding, which apparently was still a tad bit wet because the others threw their hands up over their heads to shield themselves from flying specks of paint.

"Dude!" Jasper called, forcing Emmett's arms down at his sides and taking the paint brush away from him. "Watch the hair, man."

I laughed for a few moments before realizing that about an inch away from the furthest wall, there were pieces of furniture lined up that were covered with semi-opaque plastic sheeting to protect them from the paint. Edward noticed that I was looking around the room and he stepped toward me with an apologetic sigh, putting down the roller in a nearby paint tray.

"We had planned to have the paint on the walls and the furniture in place by the time you guys got back, but Alice didn't give us much time to do everything. The paint's still wet, but once it's dry everything'll be ready to set up and the nursery will be done. Do you like the colour?"

I nodded silently, still gazing around the room. Without all the boxes and the excess furniture, it appeared bigger than before. I counted five different plastic-covered units. A dresser, a change table, a tall bookcase, and of course a crib. The last piece of furniture created an odd slated shape under the sheeting.

_Ah_. _A rocking chair._

"Wait, so the spa day was-"

"A great way to begin the day, I think," Rosalie interrupted.

"And a perfect excuse to not only spend time with you, but to get you out of the house while the boys did the work," Alice added.

Alice and Rosalie had masterminded the entire undertaking and it boggled my mind.

_Wow. _

"Thank you so much for doing all this, you guys," I said gratefully, looking at the men and then Alice and Rosalie with a smile.

"We wanted to do something for you that you needed to have done," Jasper answered.

"Yeah," Emmett chimed, "and you definitely needed this room taken care of. Eddie never did anything with it after I moved out."

"But there's something else you need to see, too, right guys?" Alice said, turning her head towards Jasper and Emmett. They both nodded. She took my hand and began pulling me out of the room. Everyone followed us out of the nursery.

Alice released my hand as we came to a halt outside Edward and my bedroom door. She griped the knob and opened the door, making me gasp at what I saw there.

On the floor beside our bed were wholesale store-sized boxes of diapers, wipes, and baby powder. On our bed, in a laundry basket decorated with baby green ribbon, was a mountain of other necessities; bottles, pacifiers, bibs, rattle-like toys, teething rings, booties, bottle brushes, and so on. Surrounding the bed, five or six large mylar balloons filled with helium floated around. The balloons had pictures of blue teddy bears and baby bottles on them. I saw the flash of a camera go off at me; Alice was holding a camera when I turned around to face her.

"Wanted to capture the moment!" she gushed, beaming. Everyone laughed quietly, including me.

I stepped closer to the laundry basket. Everyone was silent again as I looked through the basket. After a few moments, I looked back at all of them. "Really, this is amazing."

It was Rosalie who spoke next. "We wanted to throw you a baby shower, but it would have been just the three of us - " she motioned to herself, Alice, and me, "- if it was traditional. We discussed it with the guys and we all decided to just get together as a family and give you some things you'll need when Nathaniel arrives."

"Mom and Dad even sent a few things. Well, they sent the money we used to buy the diapers, wipes, and baby powder at Costco. And this," Alice said, handing me a soft package wrapped in blue baby-themed gift paper. I opened it silently to reveal a white knitted blanket with a velvety ribbon running all along the edges. "Mom made that herself. Look," she said, pointing to the middle of the blanket. There, in the direct centre of the blanket, was the name _Nathaniel _stitched in a regal-looking script. "Mom said they're all set to fly over when the baby comes."

I ran my hand over the blanket, somehow feeling the sentiment and the pride that had gone into its creation. Tears began prickling at the corners of my eyes when I thought of the way I had been welcomed into this family, baggage and all, and how grateful I was that my son was going to be born into a family that cared this much about an outsider, someone who had come from humble beginnings and had been saved from something horrendous.

Edward's gentle touch on my shoulder stirred me from my thoughts. "Hey, are you ok?" he asked, using his thumb to wipe the few tears that had escaped from my eyes. I smiled and nodded.

"Just emotional. Thank you so much for doing all this. I didn't expect...I...it means so much..." I became even more emotional, unable to speak without sounding like a blubbering idiot, so I stopped speaking and covered my mouth with my hand. Alice giggled at my display and hugged me fiercely. Rosalie came up and hugged the both of us, laughing. My tears were quickly dried up and I was laughing instead almost immediately. Meanwhile, the men were chuckling at the gaggle of women before them, embraced in a hug.

"Sorry, guys, I don't do group hugs, but I _will_ take a one-on-one hug with Bells once you ladies are all done," Emmett joked, pulling me into one of his own bear hugs.

"Careful, Em," Edward called out to his brother with a laugh.

"Thanks, Emmett," I said quietly as we hugged.

"Don't sweat it, Bells. You're family now. We Cullens stick together," he said as he released me so that Jasper could hug me briefly. I hadn't really spent much time with him, but I knew he was someone of great importance to Alice, and that meant that he was a good guy.

"Thanks, Jasper."

"You're welcome. I'm happy you liked everything," Jasper commented as our hug ended. "By the looks of all this stuff, this kid's gonna be spoiled rotten."

Edward came to me and put his arm around my shoulders as he proudly said, "If I have anything to say about it, he definitely will be." He kissed my temple softly and I leaned into his embrace, relishing the feel of his arm around me.

"Hey! I just remembered that we have some food in the kitchen, complete with dessert. I don't know about you, but this boy is hungry after hauling in all the furniture and painting. Let's eat!" Emmett exclaimed, waving to everyone to go downstairs. Jasper happily obliged, holding his stomach in a show of his hunger, followed by Alice and Rosalie. Edward and I lingered in our bedroom, admiring all the little things we had received from everyone. He picked up a package that contained three pacifiers of varying colours and nodded.

"I knew that they'd gotten a few things for us, but this is almost too much."

"I know. We'll need it all though," I replied, touching one of the bibs in the laundry basket. "You're so lucky to have family like them."

Edward immediately wrapped his arms around my expanding waist as best he could and pulled me closer to him. We came to stand face to face before he spoke, his arms unfurling from around me and taking my hands in his. He rubbed circles on the backs of them with his thumbs and took a breath.

"_We_ are lucky to have family like them," he stressed, leaning back and kissing my forehead. "They are your family, too." He paused, contemplative. "Let's see if the paint's dry." He pulled me with him toward the nursery. He let go of my hand and dabbed at the wall with a finger tentatively at first, and then he left his fingers there and took them off, looking at them.

"It's dry. Let me show you the furniture," he suggested as he pulled the plastic sheeting off the crib. It was a beautiful piece, made of hardwood stained with a dark espresso-like tint. Under the crib, there was a built-in drawer. I tried to crouch down to take a look at it, but obviously my belly had other ideas. Edward rushed to my side and took my arm to help me keep my balance.

"Oops," I giggled. "I keep forgetting that my mobility isn't what it used to be."

"It'll be back to normal pretty soon, baby. He's only about a month and a half away from being here." Edward pointed at the crib. "I remembered that you really liked this set from Target. I bought the right one I hope."

"Yeah. It's the exact one. It's great."

"And I was actually hoping that you'd like this," he turned and held up a clear plastic package with a series of white and blue cartoon trains with happy faces and wide eyes on the fronts, "to put on the walls." He held up the flat packaging against the wall and looked back at me. "What do you think?"

It was a boarder to put around the room.

"These are so cute. You picked it out?" I asked. He winced and smiled.

"Well, not all on my own. Alice helped. She has a supplier who makes these. Each train is a little different. Different shapes, different expressions on the faces of the trains."

"They would be a nice theme for the room." The colour of the trains was a nice accent colour to that on the walls.

He smiled at me and said, "That's a relief. I was worried you wouldn't like the trains."

"No, no, I do. They remind me of Thomas the Tank Engine. I loved that little guy when I was a kid."

"So did I. That's kind of the idea I wanted to get with these. Once the furniture is in place, we can put these up together. Alice brought a few more packs just in case."

Edward set down the package of decals and then began pulling the plastic off of each piece of furniture, leaving the rocking chair for last. I didn't remember seeing this particular rocking chair at Target when we had seen the rest of the set; it appeared to have been stained the same rich espresso colour as the rest, though. The seat had a fluffy-looking white tie-on cushion added to it, and a matching cushion attached to the seat back. Edward rested his hand upon the top of the back and suddenly looked wistful.

"This was our rocking chair," he began, smiling down at the chair, and then back up at me. "When we were growing up," he explained. "I dug it up out of the attic a few weeks ago and stained it to match. I got some new cushions for it. Besides that, it's exactly the same as I remember it. And now my son—our son—will enjoy it, too." He glanced back up at me and then took a few steps toward me where he took me in his arms and hugged me tightly. "You've made all of this possible. I have the life now that I could only imagine I'd have before. I'm this close to having my dream job, I have the love of an amazingly strong and beautiful woman, and we have a baby on the way. Honestly, I have never been so happy in all my life. And it's all because of you. I adore you."

I hummed with contentment at his sentimental words and replied, "Oh, Edward. I'm so incredibly happy, too. Tired—" I gestured down to the belly coming between us, "—but happy. I love you so much." I sighed and brought his arms tighter around my shoulders. To me, he was never close enough. I never wanted to let him out of my arms.

We stood like that — in each other's arms, looking over the room silently for a minute before I heard Edward sigh.

"We'd better get down there before Emmett eats everything," he joked, planting a light kiss on my lips. I agreed and we went to meet the rest of our family downstairs.

After a whole day of pampering my body, my soul was pampered by the love and joy radiating from the family as we ate. We sat at the dining room table, Bolt making an appearance every so often to beg for food, as most dogs tended to do. During the meal, conversation was definitely not scarce by any means. We chatted about Nathaniel and the men even started taking bets on who he'd look more like. Rosalie, Alice, and I were torn between the personality traits he might take on, while Emmett, Jasper, and Edward were focusing more on the features Nathaniel would inherit from the two of us.

After we ate, we called it a night because it was Sunday, and everyone had to get ready for another work week. We said our goodbyes and went up to get ready for bed. Edward shifted the boxes of diapers, wipes, and baby powder into the nursery, along with the laundry basket and balloons while I changed for bed.

By the time I finished up in the bathroom, the room had been cleared of the baby shower items and Edward was sitting in bed, reading a book in the light of the lamp at his bedside table. When I got closer, I realised he was reading the most clichéd pregnancy book around: _What to Expect When You're Expecting. _I had never seen him reading this book before, and the sight of it made me giggle. He was well into the book, too—almost half-way done. He looked up from the book when he heard me giggle and smirked.

"What?"

"It's sweet that you're reading that."

"Too typical?"

"A bit," I said as I pulled back the covers of the bed and slipped in beside Edward. He put the book down on the table and pulled me toward him with an arm around my shoulders, "But I love that you do stuff like this. Picking out names, reading _What to Expect When You're Expecting_, taking the initiative to get the guys together to paint the nursery and get the furniture...I love everything about you, but that's one of the best things about you."

"What's that?"

"That you're incredibly prepared. You always plan ahead and see what we need before we need it." I leaned in and kissed his cheek, then his lips softly. The kiss began chastely, but Edward's lips became insistent against mine. They were needy and hungry for more as he deepened the kiss by slipping his tongue against mine. I broke away from the kiss momentarily and gave him a lust-filled smile. "Actually, it appears that I know exactly what you need right now." I glanced down at his legs; a tent was forming beneath the covers. I looked back up at him and said, "Am I right?" in my most seductive voice. Edward sighed and nodded.

"Oh yeah. All day, actually." The lust in his voice was unmistakable.

"Well, let me take care of you, babe," I began, pulling the covers off of Edward slowly. Instead of helping me, he stilled my hand and brought it up to his lips to kiss it.

"We can _both _take care of each other, love."

We kissed for a few minutes more before Nathaniel kicked me sharply. "Oh!" I cried out annoyed.

Edward's eyes widened in momentary panic. "What? What happened?"

I rubbed my tummy soothingly over the spot where his foot connected. "Nathaniel is training to be the next Cristiano Ronaldo," I said with a loving smile, leaning back toward Edward to resume our kissing. It wasn't a minute later that Nathaniel kicked again, making me laugh into Edward's open mouth.

"I don't think he wants his old man to get lucky tonight, huh?" Edward asked wryly. I took Edward's hand from around me and placed it on my belly beside mine so that he could feel the next kick. We didn't have to wait long; our son kicked again right under Edward's hand.

He looked up at me and smiled happily, almost all the lust and desire faded from his eyes and unabashed joy replaced them. "I'll never get tired of feeling that."

"Neither will I. But I think he really is trying to tell us something. We've had a long and tiring day. He's probably just as tired as we are," I said, my tone apologetic. Edward nodded and kissed my forehead as he used his left hand to pull me back against him. He wrapped his arm around my shoulder and put his right hand on my belly.

"Just having you in my arms is pleasure enough for me right now. Besides, what Nathaniel wants, Nathaniel gets. Even in utero."

"I'm sure he'll apologise for his cockblocking when he understands what that means."

We chuckled happily until we said our mumbled goodnights and fell asleep in a wondrous combination of bliss and anticipation for the few months we had yet to wait for Nathaniel's arrival.

* * *

A/n:

Sheldon Cooper said it best when he said: "If you only have one day in L.A., make it a train day!" Maybe Nathaniel will develop a crazed love of trains like our dear Dr. Cooper...or hopefully not... haha!

I just had to put some trains into this one... ;)

Two more chapters, kids! Hang on tight! The next one will be the culmination of everything our most hated villan has been working towards... uh oh!


	27. Justified Paranoia

_I'm not Stephenie Meyer. This story is written for entertainment, not profit...don't sue me. Pretty please? Keep in mind that James' opinions are not my own. I'm just tapping into a warped side of my brain that I've never set foot upon before..._

As always, thanks to Meghan for beta'ing. Love ya!

I've volunteered to write a (sexy) Victim outtake in support of our friends in Australia in participation with the** "Fandoms Fights the Floods" **inititive. Over 200 authors have donated their time to this cause. They're compiling hundreds of one shots and outtakes. For a $5 (or more) donation to the charity of your choice (that is helping with the victims of the floods in Queensland), you will get a copy of this compilation emailed to you!

_(I've written about 1000 words of my outtake. It's a rare glimpse into Edward's mind...yep, that's right; it's in Edward's POV, so hopefully that'll make it sound even more tempting! Donate, please!)  
_

For more information, please go to:

fandomsfightthefloods [.] blogspot [.] com

This is it, everyone. The shit hits the fan...wait for it...

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NOW.

* * *

I was officially put on maternity leave on June 19, which thankfully also coincided with the end of the school year for Forks Elementary. Edward and I had decided that I would take six months of maternity leave and then see how I felt after that. He had commented that I could have even chosen to stay home indefinitely with Nathaniel as we would most likely be able to sell my house across the street and get some money back from the sale, but I loved teaching, so we agreed to wait and see how we adjusted to being parents first before making any permanent decisions.

Dr. Meinheim had told us to expect Nathaniel at any time after the thirty-seventh week, and that if I were to go into labour sooner, that there may be complications. Her advice to me was to take it easy in order to prevent that from happening. Her warnings were mostly preventative and she assured us that she warned all mothers-to-be in the same way, but that didn't help put Edward at ease; he seemed to get more paranoid with each passing day. We were a little over a month from Nathaniel's birth, and Edward was becoming more stressed about his impending arrival than I was. I couldn't help but laugh at the role reversal; wasn't I supposed to be the stressed out one?

Sure, I was starting to get really uncomfortable, but I knew it was temporary; our son was only a month away from joining us. The late stages of my pregnancy were wearing down my patience and tolerance; I hadn't had a good night's sleep in almost a month, my back was beginning to pain me, and I was constantly peeing which meant that if I did find a comfortable position to sit or lay in, I could never stay that way for long before having to use the facilities. I was happy to be pregnant, but the small irritants were putting a strain on me of late. It was hard to be as cheery as I had been in previous months when my whole body was practically screaming at me every minute of the day, and getting in the way of my daily chores. Walking, getting dressed, even taking a shower had become a mission these days. Edward insisted that he be present - at least in the house - when I took showers, just in case I slipped and couldn't get back up.

My last day of school was bittersweet because I wasn't just saying goodbye to my students for the summer, but for the year. My students were so excited for Nathaniel's arrival that almost all of them gave me a card or a small present for the baby - courtesy of their parents, of course. I even received hand-knitted booties from one student's grandmother, which I cherished so dearly. I could almost see Nathaniel wearing those booties as we brought him home from the hospital.

The day after school let out was a Saturday, and Edward's shift began in the wee hours of the morning and ended around five. During the day, I did a tiny bit of housecleaning and laundry. I put away the gifts I had received the day before at work and took a look around the nursery. The mattress, crib sheets, and bumper pad were already in place. The Diaper Genie sat empty beside the change table, as well as the small hamper next to it. We had already hung a mobile over the crib, a set of stars that twinkled and played _Twinkle Twinkle Little Star._ The train boarder that Alice had helped Edward pick out encircled the room at about eye-level, and we had even installed two invisible shelves on the wall above the change table. The first held two toy trains to continue the train theme, and on the other rested custom-made letters shaped of wood, spelling out Nathaniel's name - Alice's handiwork. They had been hand-painted in bright white to compliment the baby green colour on the walls. Everything was ready for our little guy to come. The only thing that was missing was him.

I slowly sank down into the rocking chair in the corner of the room and put my hand on my belly, rocking gently back and forth, my mind clear of worry.

In a few short weeks, he'd be in my arms.

Something I had thought would never happen would now be my reality. I was a few weeks away from being a mother. I knew that the joys of motherhood came with a lot of hard work and long nights, but I felt ready for it all; for the new experiences, the continuous changes to my body, the complete overhaul of our life together. Our routine - whatever routine we were able to establish with Edward's schedule - would be turned upside down and we'd soon have to accommodate Nathaniel's schedule, but we'd do it, rearrange our schedules - our lives - with a bright smile on our faces for _him_. Our son was coming into a family that adored him and would do anything for his wellbeing and happiness.

I rocked a little longer until I got a craving for some ice cream. I rose from the chair, using the momentum of a final swing of the chair to help me up, and waddled down the stairs to the kitchen. As I went down the stairs, I heard the telephone ringing, so I tried to go down the stairs faster, which only caused my balance to suffer. I was thankfully holding the railing as I went down, and landed on my butt instead of tumbling down the stairs gracelessly. As I landed on my butt on the last step, I breathed a sigh of relief; my fall could have been devastating. Since I had gained a bit of weight and now had a slightly rounder posterior due to the pregnancy, I had hardly felt the impact of my fall; and thankfully the steps were carpeted. I smiled and got up off the step to get the phone, which was still ringing incessantly.

"Hello?"

"_Bella! God, I was so worried! What took you so long to answer the phone?" _Edward's nervous voice came clearly through the line.

"I was walking down the stairs when the phone started ringing, and I tripped."

"_What?_"

"Calm down, sweetie! I'm fine! Landed on my butt." I had to giggle at that. Edward, though, wasn't laughing.

"_Love,_" he warned, sounding exasperated, "_That's not funny! You need to be careful!_"

I sighed. "I _was_ being careful. I was holding the railing and I kept myself from falling down the stairs. Why are you calling anyway, baby?" Not that I didn't love talking to him, but he had told me the hospital was busier these last few weeks, so I assumed he had no time to call me.

"_I wanted to check in on you. I'm on a five minute break before I go back, and wanted to hear your voice. What did you do today?_"

"Before I fell on my butt," I giggled, "I did some laundry and then I took a rest in the nursery." He knew what I meant because I had done that a few times before.

"_Good, I'm glad you rested. You need to be off your feet, love. You haven't been resting nearly as much as you should._"

"But I feel so useless if I'm constantly sitting when there's still so much to be done around the house," I whined quietly, though I knew how Edward would reply.

"_We've been over this, Bella,_" he rebuked gently. "_You could still develop pre-eclampsia or something worse. The test results were good, but symptoms could develop at any time. You need to take it easy. For me?_" That was his final reason for taking it easy, and it was one I simply couldn't dispute. He knew that I would relent to anything he asked if he said 'for me'. I giggled again.

"Ok, Edward. I'll take it easy the rest of the day. I'll pop in a DVD to watch until you get home."

"_Thank you, my love._" He sounded relieved. "_I'll try not to be too late tonight. I'll bring dinner._"

"Ok, thanks. I'll see you later, then. I love you. And stop worrying." I laughed.

"_That's impossibility, Bella. I will always worry about you and Nathaniel because you two are my world. I love you both so much._" The seriousness in his voice scared me momentarily.

"Babe? You ok?" I had to ask. I heard him sigh.

"_If anything happened to you..._"

"Hey, I'm fine. You're going to give yourself a heart attack with all the worrying you're doing," I joked, trying to alleviate some stress from the conversation. "Nathaniel and I are fine. He's right here, kicking up a storm, waiting for his daddy to come home and kiss his mommy properly."

Edward chuckled, the tension all but gone. "_I can't wait to get home now. See you in a few hours. Love you._"

True to my word, when I hung up I chose a DVD and popped it in the player in the family room. I propped up my feet and watched maybe the first five minutes of the movie before realizing that I still hadn't gotten that ice cream I had craved before Edward called. I rose again, pausing the movie and went to the kitchen. I opened the freezer door to find it void of ice cream. None at all. Not even fudge bars. I had eaten every last morsel of the stuff. I still craved it, and nothing would stop the craving until I got it. Sure, I had promised Edward that I would rest, but I would rest after I got some ice cream. I grabbed the keys to my car, slipped on my flip-flops - they were the only footwear I wore these days because my feet were beginning to get a bit swollen - and locked the front door behind me. I justified my trip to the store by telling myself that I would only be walking in the store to get the ice cream and back to the car. It wouldn't be strenuous. It was a Saturday afternoon anyway; the grocery store wouldn't be filled with shoppers as it normally would be. I'd be in and out in ten minutes flat. At least I hoped so.

Driving was getting harder with my belly hindering my normally close position to the steering wheel, but I managed. I drove to the local grocery store and parked in the closest spot to the front door that I could find. They hadn't yet installed those spots specifically for 'expectant mothers' yet, or else I would have parked there.

I got out of the car with a little bit of difficulty and looked around, sensing someone's watchful gaze upon me. I hadn't had the feeling of being watched since that day at the fair a few months back. I was in a public place, so it was obvious that there would be other people around me, probably glancing at the very pregnant woman trying to get out of her car. I supposed it was a comical sight seeing someone as round as I was trying to get out of a car, but when I glanced around, I saw no one watching me, so I shook it off and continued on my way.

I waddled into the store, the automatic doors dinging as they opened for me. I was immediately hit by a blast of the store's air conditioning, which gave me shivers. I needed to spend as little time in this store as possible; just take my ice cream and go. I was familiar with the store's layout, so I knew the dairy section was unfortunately at the other end of the store. I began walking over there when I felt the familiar tingling in my bladder that I had to attend to more and more as my pregnancy wore on; I had to pee. Now. _Damnit_.

I asked an employee if they had a public washroom I could use. He pointed me in the same direction as the dairy products. I thanked him and continued along until I found the washroom. I went in, choosing the furthest of the three stalls. I took care of business and was about to open the stall door when I heard the ladies' room door open and slow, heavy footfalls immediately after. They sounded like a man's unhurried, lazy feet.

I froze.

I wasn't sure what possessed me to think it, but something about the sound of those footsteps reminded me of James and the way he would saunter into a room, like he didn't have to explain a damned thing about his presence there, the way his accompanying expression would always terrify me because I never knew what torture he had in store for me based on the look. It could have been absolutely anyone, yet my mind instantly thought of James.

The footsteps stopped short in front of the stall in which I stood, paralyzed with fear.

Could it be that he had found me? But why would he approach me in a public washroom?

"Miss," a gruff voice that sounded nothing like my husband's said just outside the stall, breaking me from my thoughts. I gasped, covering my mouth with my hand quickly to mask the sound. "I'm sorry; I didn't think anyone was in here. I need to close the washrooms for cleaning when you're done. Sorry." The voice was apologetic for scaring me. The footsteps got quieter as they went in the opposite direction, until the door opened and closed quietly. I waited a few moments and then peeked my head out of the stall. By the door, there was a janitor's cart, complete with extra rolls of toilet paper, a garbage bag and a broom sticking out vertically.

I washed my hands and scurried out of the washroom as quickly as my belly would allow. I was met with an elderly janitor who was waiting just outside the doors.

"Sorry again, Miss," he apologised. I mumbled a 'no problem', flashed him a quick smile, and walked over to the dairy section.

I spent no time at all picking a few of my favourite flavours; cookie dough, butterscotch, and orange creamsicle. I paid for my purchases, got into my little car, and drove home.

The instant I got home, I breathed a sigh of relief. The relief quickly turned into annoyance at myself.

"Seriously?" I all but screamed at no one. "What the hell's wrong with me?" I knew this sort of frustration wasn't good for the baby, but I needed to let it out. "No one is following me! I'm safe! He doesn't know I'm alive," I told myself, rubbing my face with my hands. I repeated these words a few times like a mantra until I let out a long breath and shook my head.

I had to stop being so incredibly paranoid! The only thing it did was spike up my blood pressure, which was the last thing my baby needed. I needed to be calm and rational. I needed to relax, just like Edward had been trying to get me to do all along.

I put away two tubs of ice cream and dished out a few large scoops of the orange creamsicle ice cream into a soup bowl. I went back to the living room where the movie was still paused from before.

All my previous paranoia was forgotten as I indulged in my ice cream and movie. The ice cream satisfied my craving quickly. Once I finished the bowl, I got comfortable, lay on the sofa, and passed out almost immediately.

I knew I was dreaming. I felt lighter, like I was drifting in mid-air. I paid no attention to my surroundings because there were none. Only darkness. The only thing I was aware of was the sound of a voice getting louder, approaching me, drawing closer and closer.

"_Marie_," a familiar, spiteful voice called out. "_I'm coming for you. You can't hide any longer_..." the voice chanted over and over. It was James. While I knew I was dreaming, I couldn't help the terror that gripped me then, even at the mere suggestion that he'd find me; that he was currently searching for me at all.

I knew it was impossible, and yet my logical mind was silenced by my fear.

"You're not real," I called out shakily in reply, my terror making my words unsteady. "You're not real! You're just a nightmare!"

"_Am I, Marie_?" the voice said as it approached. "_Am I?_ _I'm right around the corner, getting closer every day._"

"No!" I screamed, feeling a hand on my shoulder, shaking me.

And suddenly, I was face to face with Edward's troubled countenance. He had shaken me awake, and I was extremely grateful to him for his timing. Instead of greeting him with a kiss, I wrapped my arms around his shoulders, pulling his hunched form closer to me.

"Sweetheart," Edward breathed as he rubbed my back soothingly. "Are you alright?"

I filled my lungs with his scent before nodding silently.

"What were you dreaming about?" he asked gently as he took a seat beside me with his arm still wrapped around my shoulder. I shuddered at the memory of that voice that haunted my subconscious. Edward felt my shudder because he nodded and held me closer. He knew exactly of what - or whom - I dreamt. It sounded like he growled quietly, but I couldn't be sure.

"If I ever got the chance, I would make him sorely regret ever hurting you. I'm not a violent man, but I wouldn't hesitate to kill him for what he did to you. For what he's still doing to you. Even now." His voice was gravely quiet and full of aggression, though I knew it wasn't directed at me. Still, the words to articulate how I felt by his protectiveness escaped me. It was comforting to know the lengths he would go to in order to keep me safe. I prayed to God that he wouldn't have to resort to violence, however. I had no idea what that sort of thing would do to him emotionally, and I never wanted to find out.

I hummed and nodded.

"I'm ok," I whispered. "I just had a weird experience at the store today."

"The store? Was this before or after we talked on the phone?"

"Uh, after." Edward looked like he wanted to interject his disapproval of my going against his request to put up my feet and relax, but I stopped him. "I had a craving for some ice cream and we were all out, so I went to the grocery store to stock up," I explained.

He sighed at my reasoning and smirked, knowing full well from experience that my cravings were not to be toyed with. "Ok, so what happened?"

"I...I just got paranoid. That's all. I need to stop allowing my imagination to run wild."

He eyed me skeptically. "You sure, love?"

"Yeah," I replied, rubbing my tummy slowly. "I think I was just tired and the craving was getting to my head. Even though I dreamed of his voice, I think the nap helped."

Edward kissed the top of my head and moved some hair behind my ear. "Good. I brought some dinner for us if you're hungry," he advised me quietly as he moved to get up. As he did this, I realized he was still wearing his scrubs from work. He hadn't even had time to change before he heard me screaming and woke me up. I noted the dark circles of fatigue surrounding his normally vibrant eyes. He looked exhausted, and I was sure that my outburst hadn't helped his energy levels any. He was completely drained, and I had to do something to rectify that.

I suggested that he grab a shower and refresh himself before dinner, to which he gladly agreed. Once he was all cleaned up and changed, we had dinner, which consisted of Cantonese Lo Mein and orange chicken. After dinner, we curled up on the sofa and watched the movie I had tried twice to watch by myself while savouring our time together. His next shift was for late the following evening, Sunday, so we were able to go to bed together. The night afterward, however, I'd be sleeping alone while he was at work.

I slept in Sunday morning until 10am. When I awoke, I felt the side of the bed where Edward slept and found emptiness. I was about to rise from my half-seated position in bed when our bedroom door opened. Edward came in, holding a tray with toast, scrambled eggs smothered in cheese, and orange juice.

"What's all this for, babe?" I asked as he presented the tray to me and placed it beside me on the bedside table.

"I thought I'd give you a reason to stay off your feet today. At least for a few hours." His eyebrows furrowed slightly as his tone grew serious. "You worried me last night, love. I know you think I'm being neurotic, but I work at a hospital; I've seen horror stories you don't even want to know about. I don't want you to add to those. I need you in my life. You and Nathaniel." He rubbed my belly, a small smile playing on his lips. Our son kicked just then, making his father's smile and continue his rubbing. "He'll be here before we know it. Until then, my job is to pamper you and make sure you take it easy. Starting with breakfast today." He accentuated his point by cocking his head towards the tray before me. "Now, my love, please eat the meal I so lovingly prepared for you and our son." He smiled sweetly and kissed me on the forehead.

"What about you? Aren't you eating?"

"Yeah, I'm going to bring mine up right now." He winked and left the bedroom to get his own breakfast.

When he returned, I was inhaling my cheesy scrambled eggs with vigor.

"I take it I make good eggs?" he asked with an air of playfulness. I only nodded, as my mouth was full. He chuckled. "Good to know."

We ate our meals in silence, except for the occasional moan of delight that came from me and the responding chuckle from Edward. When I was done, I had to relieve myself, so Edward took the tray from over my legs and helped me up. When I returned, the trays were stacked on top of one another and Edward and Bolt were lying on the bed. My side of the bed was empty, but three pillows were propped up, calling my name. Edward motioned to me. "Come lay with us, love."

How could I pass that up? I waddled over to him and got on the bed, laying half-way down in Edward's arms and rubbing Bolt's head gently. I sighed happily.

"What's that sigh about?" Edward asked quietly as he ran his hand up and down my upper arm.

"It's a contented sigh," I assured him. "Happiness, pure and unadulterated joy. Being here in your arms, in this bed...makes me feel so..."

"I know what you mean. It's quiet moments like these that make me thankful for all the blessings we've been given. Things won't be nearly as quiet as this in the next few weeks, so we should enjoy the peacefulness now."

I hummed my agreement, and closed my eyes, relishing the feeling of Edward's arms around me. Really, it wasn't only his arms around me, but the entire feeling of our morning together. A peacefulness settled in the air that caused all of us – Bolt included – to drift into sleep together, our arms and legs tangled, basking in our moment together, even if it was only for a short while.

Only when something startled Bolt and he jumped off of our bed, barking and growling, did Edward and I awake with a start. Bolt wasn't usually the type of dog to bark at anything, so it was odd that he'd start now. Edward followed Bolt out of the bedroom, probably thinking the same thing I had about his barking habits and wanting to investigate the reason for his barking. I struggled for a moment before pulling myself up begrudgingly from the bed. When I finally reached the lower level, the front door was slightly ajar. I walked through it slowly to see Edward and Bolt inspecting something at the side of the house, almost directly beneath our large bay window.

"What is it?" I asked when I approached them.

A frown formed on Edward's face when he looked up at me. "I don't know. Bolt ran over here and sniffed this spot as soon as I opened the door. There's a broken twig here and the grass looks disrupted. Must have been a stray dog marking territory or something." I looked around where we were standing and got a chill, despite the warm breeze that wafted over us. Edward stood up and shook his head.

"It's probably for the best that Bolt woke us up." He wrapped an arm around me and led me back into the house. Bolt was still sniffing the grass under the window. "Bolt! Inside, boy, come on," Edward called to the dog forcefully, punctuating his words with a sharp hand movement pointing inside the house. Bolt obeyed his master's command, albeit slowly and almost unwillingly; he kept looking back at the spot before he entered the house and Edward closed the door behind us.

I took a seat on the sofa in the living room while Edward brought down the breakfast trays and loaded the dishwasher. All the while, Bolt lay at my feet, making me rub his head and behind his ears. I really had grown to love this dog, despite my original reluctance to befriend him. I had never had pets growing up, so, along with getting used to living with Edward, I also had to get used to living with a pet as well. Over the months I'd lived with Edward, Bolt became more and more comfortable with me, and it seemed that he loved cuddling with me.

Now that I was on maternity leave, it was nice to not be completely alone in the house, knowing that if I called for him, Bolt would come running to check on me. He really was an intelligent dog who enjoyed it when I scratched him behind his pointed ears.

Edward returned to the living room with a glass of orange juice in his hand. He handed it to me and smiled at the scene before him before sitting at the opposite side of Bolt's furry body.

"Bolt's protective of you."

"Really? You think?"

"Yup. He just seems like he likes to be around you more these days."

I laughed. "Well, I like having him around me, too. He's a sweetie," I murmured, rubbing Bolt's head softly. Edward's hand joined mine atop Bolt's head and he smiled proudly at his beautiful and loyal dog.

"It's been the two of us for so long. I'm so relieved that he took to the transition between bachelor and fiancé so easily. I just know he'll be equally protective of Nathaniel when he comes, too. Huskies are great family dogs. We'll just introduce them little by little until he's used to our son."

I hummed my agreement, suddenly too drowsy to reply with words. Edward saw this and reached for the remote control for the television before us and got up from the sofa. I was about to question where he was going when he smiled and handed me the remote.

"You two take it easy. I'm going to do some laundry and work on an early dinner. Then maybe we can sit out on the porch and relax before my shift."

I had to admit that everything he said sounded wonderful; though I didn't want to tell him that _him _doing the laundry sounded wonderful...it really did. I nodded and smiled.

"Ok. Let me know if you need any help."

He chuckled in response. "You know I won't. You need to be off your feet." He leaned down and kissed my forehead before saying, "but if _you _need anything, just yell," and walking into the kitchen.

I stayed like that, on the sofa, for almost forty minutes, dozing in and out of comfort-induced sleep before my bladder reminded me of its presence and I had to relieve myself.

Dinner was just about ready when I entered the kitchen, the smell of grilled chicken beckoning me towards Edward, who stood at the stove. He was creating some sort of sauce to put over the chicken that smelled divine. When he heard me coming up behind him, he turned and gathered me in his arms, kissing my lips quickly.

"Let's eat outside? Like our porch picnics of old..." I suggested. Edward's eyes twinkled with excitement.

"Sounds good."

After a leisurely and relaxing dinner, we sat on the porch outside on the two-seater that we brought from my house, Edward's arm around my shoulder, rocking slowly. Enjoying each other's company on a warm summer evening was the perfect ending to the night, but I knew Edward was scheduled at the hospital soon after, so I sighed and asked him to help me up to bed. He begrudgingly agreed, rising with a slight huff of annoyance. I shared in his sentiment, but knew he needed to get ready to go, and I needed my bed.

By the time I got up into our room and was changed and ready for bed, the heat in the house was making itself known to me. It felt disgusting. Edward noted the temperature, too, and brought a tall fan into our bedroom, turning it on to swivel in the far corner of the room.

"Ugh, I'm all sweaty," I complained as I sat up in bed. Edward grinned mirthlessly as he fluffed the pillows behind me to give my back some sort of relief.

"I know, love. But I turned on the fan over there. It'll help you sleep a bit more comfortably while I'm at work."

"I'm not going to be comfortable until Nathaniel makes his grand entrance," I almost whined.

Edward leaned down and kissed my lips gently before planting another kiss on my forehead and rubbing my belly slowly.

"I know, sweetie, I know. It won't be long now until he's in your arms. Now, I'll be home around ten tomorrow morning. Try to get some rest, and call me if you need anything, OK?"

I nodded, trying to keep my discomfort off my face but failing terribly. Edward laughed at my expression and shook his head. "You're adorable, Bella. I love you."

"Love you, too," I replied with a rueful smile as he kissed my lips again, and then leaned down to kiss my belly, only thinly covered by my tank top. "Love you, too, little man." My smile grew wider at his words to his son.

"See you tomorrow morning." He waved and left the room. A few moments later, I heard the front door close behind him, the Volvo start up, and then drive away. I was all alone, except for Bolt, who had already fallen asleep in his bed near the closet in our room.

I settled in the groove my body had already created in bed and closed my eyes, hoping to find the elusive sleep I was in search of. I dozed off for a few minutes before the position I was in grew uncomfortable. I shifted again in my spot, huffing as I did.

_Sigh. Another night of being tired, but being unable to sleep._

It was a humid summer night, much more humid than the summers in Toronto or Boston.

Nathaniel was beginning to stir within me, keeping me from dozing off again. Well, that, and the fan that was oscillating in the corner of the room made just enough noise every time it shifted from one side to the other for me to hear it.

I tried to turn on my side, though my belly stopped that idea in its tracks. I was able to move just enough to be able to stare at the window which was aimed directly at my house across the street.

I took a deep breath as I gazed at the house, admiring the features that I fell in love with— mainly the large yard and the porch. I smiled as I reminisced about Edward and my porch picnics. We hadn't had one of those in a while (except for tonight), but it was what endeared him to me; the fact that he never pushed me to do something I was uncomfortable with or that might scare me away was sweet, and just proved his strength of character to me. It was probably strange for him that I feared his being in my house or me in his, but he accepted that it was something I needed to take my time with, and was very accommodating.

I was pulled out of my thoughts when a flicker of light coming from one of the windows caught my attention. It was extremely brief, so I would have surely missed it had I not been looking almost straight at it.

That was odd, I thought. I hoped that I hadn't left something plugged in that had now sparked a fire...

Knowing that I wouldn't be able to sleep with that worry still on my mind, I rose from the bed and removed the shorts I was sleeping in. Bolt stirred in his sleep and slowly raised his head to watch what I was doing. I put on a pair of grey yoga pants and a tank top from the closet, and went downstairs, leaving the bedroom door open in case Bolt needed to leave the room. As the curious animal he was, he followed me out of the bedroom and down the stairs, watching with his furry head tilted in confusion as I put on my runners and locked the door behind me as I went.

Edward had just left for his shift; it was only twenty after ten. I'd be home long before he got back, so there was no point in leaving a note.

I hurried across the street as a welcome burst of wind blew my hair in all different directions. Reaching the front porch, I took out my keys and unlocked my door. I shut the door behind me and locked it. I pulled my shoes off with the opposite feet as I surveyed the room, turning on the ceiling lights as I went. Not that I was scared, but in a vacant house all by myself I was libel to get spooked by anything and everything I heard, though my common sense knew better than to be scared.

The fuse must have been burnt out because the light refused to turn on. I flipped the switch a few times, but each effort was futile. We'd have to get someone to take a look at that. Because the moon was full in the sky and unobstructed by clouds, enough moonlight filtered through the windows that I could make my way around the main floor without lights. It gave the hallway a creepy feeling, but it was better than walking around in pitch blackness.

Something deep down inside told me to inspect all the rooms, not just the one I had seen the spark of light. I proceeded to do just that; I first took a hard look at the living room, making sure the appliances and lamps were unplugged. They were. Inspection done, I walked over to the kitchen, which looked eerie in the dark. I immediately felt my skin crawling, so I instinctively flipped the light switch, finding that the light in the kitchen also wasn't working. The moonlight still provided enough illumination to continue my inspection, so I took a look at the countertops, where the toaster and the microwave were situated. Both appliances were unplugged, too. I had left the stove and the fridge plugged in, in case we needed them at a moment's notice. I was about to leave the kitchen when something drew my attention.

On the oven's handle, I had left three dish towels resting over it, each varying in lengths. Even in the limited light I could see that now each of the dish towels were level with one another, something that I knew I would have never done, considering it was James' neuroses to want everything to be level, even, and symmetrical. I stared at the dish towels for a moment, wondering when I would have possibly done that. Deciding that I must have straightened the towels out subconsciously the last time I had stopped by the house, I shook my head and scoffed at my own paranoia.

_No one but Edward or I have been in this house for months._

I left the kitchen and began ascending the stairs, making sure to try the stairway light as I went, and finding that it, too, wasn't working.

"Wonderful," I deadpanned to the air as I reached the top of the stairs. Whatever it was that made that brief spark that got me over to the house to begin with was probably the cause of the shorted fuses. I'd tell Edward when he got home tomorrow morning about it.

I walked to the guest bedroom first, and then the bathroom, checking the plugs and sniffing the air to make sure there wasn't a fire anywhere I couldn't see. The house was still bathed in darkness, but as with the main floor, the upper floor had enough windows that the moonlight was sufficient. I kicked myself for not bringing a flashlight with me, but then again, how would I have known that I'd need one?

Once the rooms were checked, I walked into my old bedroom. The door creaked gently as it swung open, giving me the creeps.

"Stupid door," I muttered, placing a hand over my heart and trying the light switch. Just like the others before it, the light didn't turn on. I shook my head in annoyance.

My eyes went directly toward my bed, and I nearly fainted when I saw what was there. Instead of the mismatched sheets I had become accustomed to, the bed had been entirely made with black sheets - sheets I didn't own and had never seen before in the house. Black pillow cases, black fitted sheet, black shams, everything was black.

I took a few steps backward until I hit the wall behind me.

"It's not possible. Edward must have come here and changed the sheets. That's all," I reasoned with myself aloud, trying to control the tremble in my voice. "There's no way..."

I suddenly had the strong urge to go straight back home and call Edward, so I practically ran out of the bedroom and headed down the stairs. My feet ceased to move the second I heard the song that threw me into a fit of panic every time I heard its notes:_ Symphonie Fantastique_. It was coming from the main floor of the house. The silence in the house amplified the song, carrying the terrifying tune to my ears easily. There was no mistaking it.

I wasn't alone in the house.

There was also no mistaking who had gone through the trouble of playing such an obscure piece of instrumental music in my house...

James.

I couldn't hear movement at all, just the song playing loud enough for me to begin to shake at the sound of it. I figured I may have enough time to run to the door without him coming out from wherever _he_ was, so I took a deep breath and ran as quietly as I could down the stairs and to the front door. My hands were shaking so terribly that I couldn't unlock the door right away. After what felt like hours, my fingers finally cooperated and I unlocked the door, twisted the knob, and pulled the door open, only to have it shut in my face just as fast. I looked up at the door and saw the left hand of a man holding it closed.

A man wearing a golden wedding band...

A wedding band that matched the one I once wore.

My breathing grew shallow as I turned my head and saw a familiar, sinister face smiling down at me.

"Hello, Marie."

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A/N: Yup. That JUST happened.

What do you think?

Stay tuned. The next chapter is going to be intense. Thanks for reading.


	28. Fear

**I'm not Stephenie Meyer. This story is written for entertainment, not profit...don't sue me. Pretty please?**

Thanks for your reviews! It absolutely blows my mind each and every time I receive notification that I have a new review! Shall we make the review count an even 950? Love you all!

I've volunteered to write a (sexy) Victim one-shot in support of our friends in Australia in participation with the** "Fandoms Fights the Floods" **inititive. Over 200 authors have donated their time to this cause. They're compiling hundreds of one shots and the like. For a $5 (or more) donation to the charity of your choice (that is helping with the victims of the floods in Queensland), you will get a copy of this compilation emailed to you!

_(My one-shot is a citrusy adventure in the kitchen for our beloved Edward and Bella. It will be a bit more raunchy than my other lemons...donate!)_

For more information, please go to fandomsfightthefloods [.] blogspot [.] com

As always, thanks to Meghan for beta'ing and letting me talk out scenarios. Love you, hetero-lifemate!

Ok, here we go. What we've allllll been waiting for; the confrontation. I'm biting my nails over here awaiting your response to this one...let me know if this was what you expected. It took me FOREVER to write because I just wasn't sure if it was perfect...

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He locked the door and brought his hand to my cheek slowly as I turned and put my back flat against the door. "I knew you'd come," he said, appearing to be sniffing my hair as he drew closer to me.

_Symphonie Fantastique _continued to wail from somewhere in the house, giving the dark house an ominous feeling that I had a physical reaction to.

I couldn't stop my trembling body. Nothing was working; my hands wouldn't move, my breaths came in short spurts, and I just couldn't look away from him. I almost couldn't blink because his presence alone, for lack of a better word, hypnotised me just as it used to, kept my feet planted in place and my eyes glued to his.

The only thing I could do was say his name.

"J-James," I stuttered quietly, unsure of why I said it. Maybe it was to confirm to myself that this wasn't some horrible nightmare—I knew he was standing before me. As much as I wished it wasn't true, he really was there, staring at me with his carnal gaze.

How had he found me? How long had he known that I was alive?

Even in the eerie moonlight, I could see his sadistic smile dropping and his head tilting to the right, regarding me curiously.

"You remember my name, do you?" he asked sarcastically, the acid seeping into his tone. "That's interesting, since you seem to have forgotten your own. Bella," he sneered, "is NOT your name." His voice grew louder with each word, drowning out the instrumental music easily. He pulled away from me just enough to look me up and down. He looked down at my belly, his eyes lingering there far too long for my liking.

I watched as his nostrils flared and his eyes squinted ever so slightly; he was no doubt furious that I was pregnant with another man's baby. He was going to unleash his fury upon me at any moment. I knew it by the look in his eyes; they were almost bestial in their ferocity.

I had to protect my son from this monster, no matter the cost, so I wrapped my arms around my midsection in a feeble—and probably futile—attempt.

Instead of punching or kicking me, the back of his hand came crashing down on my cheek, the force of the slap sending me to the ground.

I landed on my side, letting my arm break my fall. I cried out as I fell down, not because I was in pain, but shock at my landing. Thankfully, I hadn't landed in a way that had hurt the baby. I still had my free arm around my stomach, trying in any way to protect him from James.

James crouched down before me and yanked my hair painfully toward him, upward. He held me with a familiarity that chilled me to the bone; he had had me countless times in this same position—him pulling me off the floor by my hair.

He and I were at eye level now. As he spoke, I felt his disgustingly hot breath on my already-swelling cheek and shuddered.

I thought I would never again have to smell his sickly-sweet breath, feel it against my cheek, look upon his enraged face, and feel his rough hands on me at all. I thought my life with him was over. I thought my time being scared for my life was done because I was a new person here...

But my new reality was slowly sinking in.

He had found me. Somehow, despite all our best efforts to conceal me in a strange, new town, he'd found me. Regardless of the way in which I attempted to change my appearance, the new name Carlisle chose for me, my new life here in Forks, everything had failed and he had come for me anyway.

He'd come to kill me. This I knew for sure by the way he watched me, like I was an ant he was about to burn with a magnifying glass. His eyes, like my beloved Edward's, told a story, too; the wild and furious glint that reflected back at me told me how I was going to die tonight if he got his way—slowly, torturously, and painfully.

I couldn't let that happen. Not without a fight.

My baby, our baby, was depending on me to keep him safe. I had to stay strong and keep him talking until I could get something to hit him with or knock him out with just long enough to make an escape.

"I thought you were smarter than this, Marie. Faking your own death, shacking up with some bastard..." he paused, shaking his head. He glanced down and his eyes fell upon my left hand, where my engagement ring sat on my finger. His eyes flashed with rage and returned to my face. "What the FUCK is this? You know, bigamy is a crime, Marie." He pulled my hand up off the ground just enough to yank the ring straight off of my hand and throw it forcefully behind him. I heard it clatter off the wall in the distance right around the same time James slammed his steel-toed boot onto my left wrist, crushing bones and tearing flesh without remorse or a second thought. The pain as he indisputably broke the bones in my wrist spiked through my entire body, and I let out a gut-wrenching scream.

When he continued, he sounded sympathetic, like he was admonishing a small child who should have known better. "Did you think I would just let you leave me? Did you think that I wouldn't find you?" When my only answer was the shaking of my body, my continuous whimpering, and the falling tears from my eyes, he snapped. "I asked you a fucking question!" he bellowed in my face, pulling my hair, and me, higher off the ground. My broken wrist screeched in protest of the movement. I whimpered in pain, already too fatigued by the agony shooting up and down my arm to even scream anymore. It fell limply at my side as he pulled my body off the ground.

He was completely unhinged. His mood swings were unnerving; one minute, he was calm and almost gentle, and the next, he was yelling at the top of his lungs and swearing. The volatility of his actions horrified me all the more. Who knew what other bones he was willing to break tonight, or worse.

"No, no, no," I stammered, my eyes wildly searching the foyer for something hard or pointy to attack him with. There was a small hallway table a few feet away from us, but there was nothing useful upon it. Besides that, I found nothing that was easily reachable.

He lowered my head to the ground and returned to his feet, standing above me. If he wanted to at that moment, he could have kicked me in the stomach. I tried to roll to face my back to him, despite the indescribable pain in my wrist, but he stopped me, dragging me up by my right forearm and lifting me to my feet. He pulled my hand and was about to drag me up the stairs.

"What are you going to do? J...James...please...please don't hurt my baby," I begged as we were about to ascend the stairs. He spun toward me and pushed me against the wall, pinning me there by the shoulders, again eying my protruding belly.

"That should be MY baby," he spat, "you filthy, cheating whore!" He slapped me again, this time on my left cheek. My hands went over my face and I felt my tears mixing with the blood that was surely seeping from the cut the first slap had created. It was then that I felt his hands wrap themselves around my neck, squeezing enough to make me lightheaded. I tried to pry his hands off my neck to no avail.

"I've been watching you for a few months now, seeing you live this lie, pretending to be this other woman, going through the motions as if you aren't someone else's wife," he spat acidly. "It's made me sick to my fucking stomach to watch you parade around this town."

_Months?_ I thought horrified. How had he stayed undetected? I never had any suspicion that someone was watching me, let alone James. Well, I _had _had a feeling at the Fair a few months back...and two days ago at the grocery store...could it have been that he was behind my 'paranoid' feelings both those times? I felt the blood drain from my face at the realization that I _had_ felt James watching me; I hadn't been crazy at all. He had actually been watching me from a distance all this time—watching me with Edward at home and probably watching me as I worked at Forks Elementary...

"You may fool your co-workers, and the rest of your new family, but you can't fool yourself into believing you're anyone else but Marie Huntington, my wife. And you certainly can't fool me. You. Are. Mine," he said slowly, accentuating each word before continuing, "You've _been_ mine since I married you, and you'll _be_ mine forever!"

_No, no, no, it can't end like this,_ I thought as my mind began getting fuzzy from lack of oxygen and the pain still shooting up my arm from my wrist. I had to do something for him to release me. From where I was standing, I was almost exactly between his legs, so I took my only opportunity to get away and lifted my knee hard into his groin. Instantly as I made contact, his hands released my neck and he doubled over in pain, gripping his groin with a grimace.

"You fucking bitch!" he shouted in surprise. I had never fought back against him before, so he had had no reason to suspect I would start now. "I'm gonna fucking kill you!" he yelled as I gathered my bearings and walked as quickly as my belly would allow toward the door for the second time. A few deep breaths helped my dizziness to fade, but I knew I wasn't making my escape fast enough because I heard James stalking down the hallway behind me. Thankfully, my head was clear enough that I thought to run towards the kitchen instead and grab whatever I could find to defend myself.

I ran as fast as I could—being pregnant and still trying to shake my dizziness didn't help me make my escape any faster—down the hall, all the while, hearing James' swearing and loud footsteps as he followed.

Just then, the music ended. Before, when that music played, my fear was heightened. But now, with its grand ending, the sudden silence that swept over the house was so much worse than the chords and rises and falls of the majestic song. It was as if the end was near for me.

"There's nowhere to run, Marie," he called tauntingly as he drew closer behind me. I got to the cutlery drawer and pulled out the first rather large chef's knife I could find. It had a straight edge and a sharp tip. I turned with it in my right hand unsteadily just in time for James to come within inches of being impaled on it. He raised his hands up and smirked condescendingly.

"What are you going to do with that, Marie? You know you can't hurt me."

I gulped loudly and took as deep a breath I could manage given my current state. "Try me, James."

He chuckled confidently. "I know you better than anyone in this entire world. You are my wife. I know you can't stand the sight of blood. Remember the time you fainted the time I sliced my finger on that glass I dropped when we first moved into our house? After you came to, you begged me to get stitches, but I refused," he recalled gently, taking a small step toward me. He reminded me of a lion, stalking his prey, and it terrified me. With the terror, though, I realized that my fight or flight reflex was leaning toward fight, and if it came down to it, I would _have _to stab James. He continued, "You _won't_ hurt me, anymore than you already have, Marie." He took another step. "I've been looking for you for so long now." I took a step backward towards the counter, trying to keep our distance equal, but I had run out of room for that. He was far too close for comfort. The knife in my hand began to shake violently, despite my pep talk about having to stab him if need be. James saw this and his smirk grew. He took another step, placing the tip of the knife flush with his chest, confident that I didn't have the strength—both physical and mental—to stab him with it.

"It's a good thing I found you when I did," James continued softly, like he was trying to talk a suicidal person off a ledge. "I was starting to lose hope." His voice was low, but I knew he was being sardonic; he sounded sympathetic and relieved to see me, but I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that he was just acting to confuse me. There was no confusion, however. He wanted to teach me a lesson for leaving him. He wanted to end me, but he was going to toy with me first. I was certain of it.

"Step back!" I cried, realizing I was probably done for now.

In the far distance, I heard a dog barking incessantly. I wondered for a brief moment whether it was Bolt barking, but didn't have enough time to listen intently before James spoke again, reminding me of the situation at hand.

"Why would I do that, my love?" Again, his voice was soft, non-threatening, but I couldn't help the shudder that ran through my body at his words. The undercurrent of his words was anything _but _loving. Besides, I would only be one person's love, and that was Edward.

"I'm not your love!" I spat, albeit unconvincingly. "You never loved me! You hurt me, belittled me, tortured me, raped me, and left me bruised and battered. That's not love!" I couldn't believe my own words. They flowed out without a filter, allowing everything I ever wanted to say to him to spew out uninhibited. If I was going to die that night, I would at least tell him everything I had bottled up within me during our years together.

He narrowed his eyes further and opened his mouth to reply when we heard a knock at the door. Not just any knock. Three knocks in succession; it was Edward.

I was about to scream for him when James grabbed the knife I had been wielding at him and suddenly pulled me toward him with my back to his chest. I felt the cool metal of the knife pressed roughly against my neck and gasped.

"Shut the fuck up, or the last thing you'll see is your precious _Edward's_ lifeless body on this linoleum."

My tears fell quickly and heavily down my cheeks at the thought of never seeing Edward again or having our baby.

"Please," I whimpered, as all the strength in me began to fade. With the terror and the now throbbing pain in my arm, I felt tired and hopeless; it was suffocating. He gripped the knife and pressed it harder to the side of my neck, giving me a small cut that began to seep blood; I felt the hot, syrupy fluid dripping slowly down my neck, making me shudder at the sensation.

"I said shut the fuck up!" he whispered furiously. Edward knocked again.

"Bella, love, you in there?"

I heard a growl come from James. "Fucking tool," he muttered, pushing me toward the front door.

"James—"

"Talk again and I will kill him. I guarantee you," he whisper-yelled. I whimpered at his words and let him push me all the way to the door. Edward knocked again.

"Sweetie?"

"Tell him you're fine. Say it or he dies," James whispered in my ear. "I suggest that you choose your words wisely."

I nodded as best I could with the knife still pressing against my neck, and cleared my throat, hoping my voice wasn't as shaky as I felt.

"I-I'm fine, Eddie," I called, hoping my use of the nickname he detested would signal to him that I was in deep trouble. "I'll be home in a few minutes." My voice wavered only once, but I thought it sounded more like I was sleepy rather than being under duress. "I thought I saw something through the window...I just wanted to check the house. Nothing, though."

"You sure? Want me to take a look? I don't have to be back to the hospital right away. I forgot a report in my office at home, and I'm using my lunch break to grab it," he said, concern lacing his tone.

"No, no, that's ok. I'm nearly done here. Go back home." I sighed as I felt James nodding behind me. "I love you," I almost whispered, my voice cracking at the end. This was the last time I could tell him that, I knew. James wasn't pleased with it; I winced as the blade dug into my skin again, causing me to almost yelp in pain.

"Love you, too, babe. See you in a little bit then." Edward had believed me; I could tell by the undisturbed way he had spoken. My use of his most hated nickname did nothing to alert him to the danger I was in. The absolute terror I was feeling began to engulf me as the situation was quickly overwhelming me.

I was scared for myself, sure, but most of my fear was reserved for the safety of my baby; if I died, it was a near-certain bet that Nathaniel would, too.

It really _was _hopeless.

The sound of Edward's unhurried steps off the porch was heard. James began pushing me toward the living room then, his back to the front door.

"Very convincing Marie; except for the end." He dropped the knife on the carpeted floor of the living room and spun me around to face him. I hadn't noticed what he was wearing before, but I now saw he was wearing a black leather jacket, a white, stained t-shirt, and dark wash jeans. I had never seen him dressed that casually before, even on his days off. His dirty blond hair, which had previously been closely shorn and clean, was now down to his cheek and oily. It looked like he hadn't slept in days, weeks even. All in all, he looked haggard. His eyes were those of a mad man, even more so than normal, darting back and forth and not focusing on one thing in particular, except for my eyes and my belly. He looked agitated, like a caged animal.

I knew that look. I had seen it many times before; he was about to unleash his anger upon me fully.

He grabbed me by the throat again, holding tightly, and lifted me up off the floor an inch. I tried uselessly to pull his hands off, scraping my nails on his arm in the process.

"I've dreamed of this moment for a long time, Marie. I'm going to make you pay for leaving me. For making me believe I was a widower, for all the pity and words of sympathy I had to endure over this past year. For _everything. _I'm going to take you out of this shithole town and we're going down south, where no one will recognize us, and no one will hear you scream."

"What? No, please," I started to beg, choking. "This is my home...I belong here..." I started trailing off. Everything got hazy as his grip tightened.

"Your home is where I tell you it is. You're mine. Never forget that, Marie," he sneered into my face. "I'm going to make _damned _sure that you never forget that."

Right before everything faded to black, there was a loud bang accompanied by shouting, jolting me to awareness.

"Freeze!"

I snapped out of my haze when James loosened his hold on me at the noise. He pulled me toward him with my back to his chest again and dug into his jacket. My worst fears came to fruition; he pulled out a gun and brought it swiftly against my temple.

I still hadn't seen who had yelled until James pushed me forward, out of the living room and back into the foyer, where Emmett and Edward stood. Emmett was wearing a policeman's uniform and was pointing a gun at James and me. I had never known that Emmett was a police officer. Then again, I had never really asked. I didn't have time to feel regretful for not taking more interest in Emmett's career, though, because there was a gun pointed at my head, and it was being wielded by my psychotic husband.

"Oh my God! Bella!" Edward cried when he saw me in James' arms. His eyes appraised me from where he stood; I knew he saw the dishevelled state I was in, and the odd way I clutched at my broken arm, not to mention my swollen cheeks and the cuts there. His face was filled with terror for me, and anger at James.

"Don't do anything stupid, buddy," Emmett called calmly with his free arm in front of him and his palm out. Despite his calm demeanour, I could tell that he was nervous that James' gun still pointed to my head.

"My name is James, but I don't think we know each other well enough for us to be on a first name basis yet," James shouted tauntingly at Emmett. He turned his head slightly, tilting it to the side to look at Edward with contempt. "But I know you _very _well, _Edward," _he spat out Edward's name in distaste, like it was rotten fruit. "Mr. Soon-to-be-Doctor. You're the one who's been fucking my wife."

Edward gasped at hearing James confirm his identity and grimaced angrily.

"She stopped being your wife the day you laid your goddamned hands on her!" Edward burst. "I swear to Christ, if you hurt her, I will fucking kill you myself!" He stepped forward, but Emmett put his arm out and stopped him.

I was shocked by his language, but I had never seen him so scared before. It must have been his defence mechanism.

I felt James chuckle at Edward's outburst.

"Are you crazy? Stop, Edward!" Emmett pleaded adamantly to Edward. He turned his full attention back to us. His professional demeanour returned as he looked at James steadily. "This is a situation you can't control. If you pull that trigger, you will be signing your death warrant. I can guarantee that, man. Put down the gun and let Bella go. Now."

James chuckled confidently. "I can't control this situation? Sure I can," he scoffed. "You both are here to save this whore," he said acidly, shaking me for effect, which moved the gun against my temple back and forth. Edward's eyes widened and I knew he was silently begging me to stay strong. "And I'm here to make her pay for thinking she can leave me. As long as she's in my hands, I have all the control I need."

It was then that I knew for certain that my seconds were numbered. The sound of his voice told me that; he was a man who had no regard for his own wellbeing any longer. He was no longer on a recovery mission; he was now on a kamikaze mission, and I was the target. "Now, I ask you, what better way is there to make her pay than to do this?" James took the gun away from my head and aimed it at the one place a bullet would truly destroy me: straight at Edward's head. "She always was too emotional for me. Always so weak, always letting her heart make decisions for her. I'm sure she's in love with you, so this bullet right here will do the most damage, once it's in your fucking head."

"James! Please, don't do this!" I begged, trying to pull on the arm that pointed the gun at Edward. "You want me! You don't want to hurt them. I'll go wherever you want me to go with you. Just don't hurt them!"

"No, Bella," Edward cried. "You can't!"

"I can't live with the knowledge you were hurt because of me," I reasoned, my tears continuing to flow steadily down my face.

"Oh, shut up, both of you!" James whined exasperatedly, cocking the gun and shifting the aim back to me.

"James, you don't want a death on your conscience. Believe me, man," Emmett tried to reason with him again, taking one small step forward. At this, James snickered; he saw right through Emmett's attempt at appealing to the humanity in him.

"Ha, you think I haven't killed before? This ain't my first rodeo, buddy."

"What?" I exclaimed in shock. James nodded slowly.

"My mom was a whore just like you, Bella; fucking around on my dad whenever she got the chance. Finally her guilt overcame her and she came home one night and confessed to him. I overheard the whole story and was devastated, but only for a brief moment until I heard that my dad wasn't fighting her or getting angry. He resigned himself to her infidelity and took it like the pussy he was! He began crying and asked her to sit with him and talk. He was going to forgive her! I got so fucking pissed off..." he recounted, huffing at the memory. "I got the gun my mom used for protection from her nightstand and shot them both."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. And apparently, neither could Edward or Emmett. Their jaws dropped open as they heard the story.

"But...you told me they were killed in a home invasion..." I muttered quietly.

"I set up the living room like a movie I had seen. Down to the broken doorframe and moving the bodies right away so they'd have rigor in positions consistent with my description of the event. I stashed the gun somewhere no one would find it. I took some valuable-looking things from the living room and hid a shitload of jewellery that was kept in the house to make it look like a robbery."

James still had the gun pointed at me, and recalled the story without wavering.

I suspected before that he was crazy, but now I saw that he truly was the epitome of evil, to kill his own parents without any remorse or feeling except for hatred and satisfaction.

"It worked out in my favour, I must say," James continued with a dark smile. "The life insurance and house more than paid my way through college and law school. Not to mention all the sympathy I got from such a tragic event happening to such a young kid."

"I can't believe I felt sorry for you!" I burst unexpectedly. "You...you always spoke so highly about your parents! You always made it sound as if their murder was what drove you to apply to law school!"

"In a manner of speaking, it was. Still, they deserved it. Just like that funeral home director. He confessed everything to me before I put a bullet between his eyes."

I gasped again, recalling the nice man who helped me into the car before Esme drove me to New York and then to Washington state.

"He's dead?" I asked. My tears, which had slowed down, came back with a vengeance.

"Yup, and he was pretty forthcoming with information once he thought I wouldn't kill him." James smiled proudly at my reaction. He tilted his head. "What's wrong, Marie_?_" he asked, smirking when he saw the tears falling freely from my eyes now. "Ah, there's the weak, emotional girl I married." He leered, and gently stroked the muzzle of the gun down my cheek.

"You son of a bitch," I heard Edward mumble angrily.

"I must admit, though," James continued sardonically, tightening his hold on me, "that I did fail in taking care of your precious parents, a failing I am looking forward to rectifying personally."

_My parents. _

James had been responsible for the arson that destroyed my childhood home and nearly killed my parents.

"You bastard!" I screamed, beginning again to struggle against his strong grip. "They almost died! I..." I couldn't continue talking because my sobs stopped me. This seemed to only spur James on further.

"They deserved to die! They kept you from me! They should have told me that you lived when they found out. Instead, they kept your secret and allowed you to pursue your life of sin with this bastard," he replied, shaking me forcefully. "And don't think I've forgotten _your_ parents, _Eddie_. The funeral director didn't tell me anything, but I found some encrypted emails between him and your father that told me everything I needed to know. Once I'm finished here, I'm going to make sure they regret helping her escape me. They'll get the worst of my wrath...well, aside from Marie here." Edward tried to take a step towards us as he watched me being jostled back and forth by my crazed husband. Emmett put his hand on Edward's arm to calm him, shook his head and looked at James and me.

"James, this needs to end. Now. Put down the gun and the three of us will walk out of here. We won't follow you. No one has to die tonight," Emmett attempted once more. I knew it wouldn't work, though. I was watching James as Emmett tried to talk to him. James was beyond reasoning.

He shook his head and glanced at Emmett and Edward. "Oh that's where you're mistaken, Officer Cullen," James leered lowly. "Someone definitely dies tonight."

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**_A/N: _**

**_Wow. *wipes sweat from forehead and anticipates a lot of reviews*_**

**_What did you think about that? I hope it met all your expectations. I'm nearly done the next chapter, but it won't be out for at least a week...I need to make sure it's flawless._**


	29. The End

**I'm not Stephenie Meyer. This story is written for entertainment, not profit...don't sue me. Pretty please?**

Wow.

The outpouring of love (and frustration at the cliffhanger) for the last chapter was incredible. It boggles my mind when I think about it. I want to dedicate this chapter to each and every one who takes the time to read and review my humble little story. It's nearly at an end, but I couldn't have continued writing it without the morale-boosting words I've received from hundreds of you out there. So, again, THANK YOU!

Ps, has anyone read the lemon-filled one-shot for Victim that was included in the Fandoms Fight the Floods compilation? If you have, send me a quick message to let me know what you thought of it. :)

As always, thanks to Meghan for beta'ing and letting me talk out scenarios. In this case, she helped me piece together the entire thing when I thought it was too short. Love you, hetero-lifemate!

Ok, I'll step down from my soapbox and get on with it...

Enjoy!

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_Previously:  
He shook his head and glanced at Emmett and Edward. "Oh that's where you're mistaken, Officer Cullen...Someone definitely dies tonight..."_

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"And I've decided who it'll be first," James sneered, shaking me for effect.

I knew it.

It was something I'd known from the moment I saw him. It was me he'd come for and he'd make sure I'd die first in order to torture Edward before he turned the gun on him too. I heard the gun cock in James' suddenly unsteady hands, clicking twice as it went.

"This is finally it," James said wickedly. "All the months of preparation I've gone through, all my suffering and living in squalor just to follow you to this godforsaken town...all for this one moment. The moment you finally get what's been coming to you since that traitorous doctor told me you slipped into a coma." He breathed in deeply as if he were sniffing my hair again. "God, this feels good. You know what they say about revenge? About it being a dish best served cold? This dish has been waiting for me to enjoy it for some time now."

"Don't do this." It was Edward's strained voice that pleaded for my life.

"You know, Eddie, you're really starting to irritate me with your pussy-whipped attitude. She's not worth it. No woman is. They're only good for fucking. And this one," he shook me again to emphasise his point, "wasn't even good at that."

I listened to his words and frowned. He had always been left dissatisfied with the way things went in the bedroom, but then again, so had I. His decision to broach this subject at all, especially with my death looming over me, only demonstrated how deranged he really was.

"What's wrong, Marie? Don't enjoy the topic of conversation?" James snickered. He chuckled into my ear before his voice grew very quiet and he whispered, "I suggest you savour these last few moments of your life. They'll be over before you know it."

"Look, we can work something out, James," Emmett suggested. "You don't have to kill anyone. The offer still stands, man. You can walk out of here, you leave Bella alone and-"

"Her name is MARIE," he suddenly barked. "She was born Marie, and in a few moments," James paused steadily, turning to look at me in the eye as he continued, "she'll die Marie."

A sob ripped through my throat at the thought of James getting his wish. All it would take was a tiny slip of his finger on the trigger of the handgun he was holding against my temple and it would all be over. Everything I had worked so hard for - my independence, my self-confidence, my sense of normalcy - would be up in smoke, and I'd be lying lifeless on the floor.

He chuckled darkly and said, "Say goodbye, Marie..." I felt the grip on the gun get tighter as it dug into my temple. He was done talking, I knew. The way he had said those final words chilled me to the bone and told me there would be none following those.

This was it for me.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Emmett and Edward standing stock still, watching us with wide eyes. Edward's devastated eyes were beginning to tear up, which broke my heart to see. I had never seen him cry before; he had always been so put together, so strong. He was the one I leaned on when the memories of my past life overwhelmed me and threatened to take over my life. When I couldn't be strong for myself, he was strong for me.

The scene unfolding before me was something I had never wished to witness in my lifetime. Edward's tears killed me more than any bullet ever would because they showed me how desperate the situation had become; I wasn't getting out of this alive. And James would go down fighting against both Emmett and Edward, causing at least two more casualties to somehow satisfy James' fanatical desire for control over my life. It all seemed so pointless, for things to be ending this way, especially when there were so many things I still needed to tell Edward that began to go through my mind as those last few seconds before James pulled the trigger ticked by. I wanted to thank him for helping me get my life back, even for a little while. I wanted to tell him how complete my life was since he'd told me that he loved me. I had never loved anyone or anything as much as I loved him. I wanted him to tell Esme and Carlisle how grateful I was for their help in making me safe, even though their efforts were ultimately wasted since James had found me anyway. Above all else, I wanted him to tell everyone—my parents, his parents, Alice, Jasper, Emmett, and Rosalie—that I loved them.

Before, I always thought that when people said that their lives flashed before their eyes that it was nonsense. But as I waited for James to pull the trigger, and I felt the cold muzzle of the gun digging into my head, I saw all the important people in my life and all the events I had experienced that made me the person I was, and everything that had led us to that exact moment. All the jumbled and incoherent thoughts in my head became very clear and serene, despite the chaos around me. Things had been so simple: Edward loved me, I loved him, and we were happy and about to get married. But now, James was about to kill me, and Nathaniel and the world as I knew it was about to come to an end. Tears had begun flowing uninhibited down my cheeks, not for me but for my son who would never be born, and for the devastation that Edward would face in the coming months after our deaths.

My final thoughts, however, were interrupted when I saw Edward make a very rash decision by suddenly throwing himself forward at both James and I, in the process causing James to release me as we all fell to the floor. They began desperately wrestling for the gun, grunting and cursing as their struggle continued as I struggled to crawl away from them.

"You fucking bastard! I'm going to enjoy seeing the look on her face as you breathe your last breath!" James yelled as he punched Edward hard in the jaw. "It'll be my pleasure to kill you!" Edward shook his head briefly before regaining his focus and pulling the gun a few inches closer to himself. I could see that he was trying to pry James' fingers off of the gun, but with no use. The two men continued to roll on the floor, pulling at each other's clothes savagely. Edward had now gotten beneath James. It was a tug of war neither of them was winning. The gun remained equidistant in their hands between their bodies, neither man gaining the upper hand.

Emmett rushed to my side and pulled me to him with one hand as he pointed his own gun at my husband and my fiancé. "Fuck," Emmett swore quietly, almost to himself. "Can't get a clear shot." I struggled in Emmett's arms trying to free myself to assist Edward not thinking about my own condition before Emmett turned to me with a most serious look and stated the obvious: "Bella, we'll only make the struggle worse and then anyone could still get shot. Please, just stay with me while I wait for a clear shot, alright?" I nodded my head in agreement and scolded myself internally. I had just gotten out of one hairy situation and was ready to get myself into another. I needed to think of Nathaniel now, not just myself and Edward.

Meanwhile, James and Edward continued their screaming match on the floor. "You won't get that far! Not if I have anything to say about it!" Edward kneed James in the stomach then and was able to get his elbow up and catch James in the jaw. It looked as though Edward would succeed in wrestling the gun away from James then, but unfortunately, James grimaced and coughed but was otherwise unaffected by Edward's hits.

"You'll have to do better than that, Eddie," James spat as he attempted to pull the gun back toward him. They were rolling back and forth, too quickly for Emmett to get a shot off in our favour. They were still exchanging blows and rolling around when Edward somehow found himself on top of James. They were now chest-to-chest, the gun disappearing between them.

Every minute that passed made my blood pressure soar; Nathaniel must have understood my agitation because he began kicking, too. My whole body began shaking again with the fear and the adrenaline rushing through my system at watching the two of them struggle, throwing punches and grunting in anger.

That gun they were fighting over could have made this situation end in a variety of different ways. Because of my dad's position on the Peel Regional Police force in Toronto, he had always taught me to handle guns with care because once the safety was off, the trigger could be sensitive enough that it would require only a small nudge to fire. Dad had even taken me shooting once, though I hadn't been able to handle the recoil and hated the whole experience. This limited but relevant knowledge of guns made me an explosive bundle of nerves, set to go off the instant the gun did.

Only one outcome was optimal for us: a bullet through James' evil heart. However, only time would tell how this would really end.

After another minute of James and Edward's battle, I heard the sound that nearly stopped my heart: the loud bang of a gunshot followed by Emmett's scream of 'No!'  
Throwing caution to the wind, I pushed past Emmett to see Edward lying on top of James, unmoving. I stared at them, my eyes becoming blurry with tears. My hand flew to my stomach and my breathing grew shallow and fast.

I saw James try feebly to push Edward off of him, but he couldn't.

"No, no, no, no, no," I chanted as I inched closer to the two men with Emmett right beside me, trying to slow me down.

It couldn't end like this. It simply couldn't.

How would I live without Edward? He needed to be there with me as Nathaniel entered the world. He had to be there to raise our son together. He needed to meet me at the altar in the near future, and promise himself to me and accept my promise, too. Most of all, he needed to be there to love me.

I nearly drove myself insane as I stared at the men lying on my floor. Each step toward them felt like an eternity as I drew closer and closer, hoping and praying that the right man was shot.

Finally, I saw Edward moving off James of his own strength and topple over to his side, still holding the gun in his hand. He let the gun drop to the ground beside him. A pool of blood had formed on the centre of his shirt, which terrified me to see, not to mention made a vile nauseous feeling rise up in me.

"Edward!" I cried as I moved away from Emmett and crouched at Edward's side as best I could with my large belly between us, putting my arm around his shoulder. "Baby, please tell me you're alright! Please!" I sobbed hysterically, clutching the front of his shirt and noticing that there was no bullet hole there.

"Shhh sweetie, I'm fine, I'm fine," he soothed in a rough voice, running his hands over my cheeks. I heard Emmett heave a sigh of relief beside me as we helped Edward get up. "I'm ok, baby."

Tears fell from my eyes as I looked Edward over. There was a nasty looking bruise forming on the side of his face and his lip was split open from James' punch. A slow stream of blood flowed from it down his chin. His hair looked like he'd just rolled out of bed, going this way and that. His scrubs had specks of dirt and blood on them, and were torn at the neckline. His eyes were tired and weary, but relieved, too. He wrapped his arms around me and held me tightly to him. The moment we touched, my erratic breathing and shaking body evened out. The calming effect of his warm hands on me was instantaneous. All my tension and worry melted away and it was as if I had never been in distress. My body forgot every anxious breath taken, every shake, every goose bumps caused by James' presence. The effect must have been the same for Edward because as he held me, I felt him let out a long breath. It sounded as if he was trying to repress a sob, though he never gave any other indication of crying. He rubbed my back soothingly with one hand as he held me, though his touch eased my agitated form enough. With his free hand, he rubbed my belly slowly; he must have felt Nathaniel kicking up a storm and knew that his touch would have the same effect on him that it had on me.

"God, Bella, I was so worried, don't know what I'd do without either of you..." Edward's words were so quiet as he continued to touch me soothingly.

"Is he...?" Emmett asked, gun still in his hand lowered to his side. Edward turned away from me for a moment to answer his brother, his arms releasing me momentarily.

"If he isn't dead, he will be soon. I shot him in the stomach. He's bleeding out quickly," he said in a no-nonsense way. There was no emotion attached to his words. It was as if he'd crushed a cockroach under his shoe, not killed a man. I couldn't blame him, though; if in the same situation, I would have spoken in the same emotionless tone. James was a cockroach, always out of sight, but ready to pop out of the woodwork when it was the most opportune for him. I knew that I had frozen when I had the knife pointed at James, but if I had had another chance, I wouldn't have hesitated to shoot him dead. This game of cat and mouse had to end somehow. If it ended with his death, I knew that I would be fine with that. He had threatened my family—my son's life, my fiancé's life—and he had to pay for that. I was just thankful that he hadn't hurt anyone during the struggle for the gun. It could have ended horribly.

Emmett nodded and was about to crouch down towards James to make sure when James' head snapped up, eyes wide and wild searching the room for his intended target.

Within about four seconds, before Edward or Emmett had a chance to react, James pulled the gun off the floor and locked his wild eyes on me. He grinned menacingly as he fired a shot in my direction.

In slow motion, I watched as a blast of fire briefly escaped the muzzle of the gun and headed toward me. I saw it happening, but could do nothing to prevent the trajectory of the bullet as it sped toward me, or move my body to avoid it.

A burst of pain crippled me where I stood, but made me sway with the force of the shot. It took a moment to process what had happened—the bullet ripping through my body—but once I had, I screamed loudly as the heat from the shot ran through me. I shut my eyes tightly to fight against the pain of the gunshot, trying to block out the intense searing but failing miserably. It was a hot fire burning me, scalding me from an undecipherable place on my body.

"Bella!" Edward shouted over the sound of another gunshot, no doubt Emmett's directed at James. I heard the distinct clatter of the gun in James' hand as it crashed to the ground once more, skittering across the floor and out of his reach. I opened my eyes in time to see Edward grabbing me before my body slammed against the wall. He lowered me to the ground in a sitting position carefully, ever mindful of my broken wrist. My eyes were beginning to grow heavy, my body deciding it was better to pass out then experience the intense pain radiating through me. I fought to keep my eyes open as I the world swirled around me, and a new throbbing pain I was feeling in my left shoulder told me the general vicinity of the shot. I knew that this easily trumped any pain James had ever caused me—even when he pushed me down the stairs, I hadn't felt this much agony because I was knocked unconscious almost immediately. I heard a strangled cry come out of me without my consent as Edward held me in his arms and looked me over. "It's your shoulder, thank God, it's just your shoulder," Edward said quietly, chanting it over and over like a prayer as he inspected the entry point of the gunshot. He was probably saying it to reassure himself as much as me. "Through and through." I stared intently at him, trying to use the always breathtaking sight of my love to help drown out and ignore the burning pain in my shoulder and arm.

"You'll always be mine, Marie," I heard James croak out hoarsely, bringing my focus away from Edward and back to him. It was obvious he was in pain. Even through my own pain, I somehow managed to look him right in the eye from where I had been lowered. His crazed eyes were fighting to stay open. Even though he was clearly at death's door, he wore a smirk that made me believe this was the ending he had chosen for this whole thing. It confirmed my previous thoughts; he really had been on a kamikaze mission. He might not have had the pleasure of seeing my demise, but he knew that this night would forever be etched into my memory, and therefore his memory would always be with me in a way.

Although he sought to dishearten me and break me with his words, James did not realize how much I had changed in the past few months; because despite being in great pain, seeing James suffer as he lay on the floor in immense pain gave me strength. I took a quick moment to evaluate his condition.

His normally medium-toned skin was now deathly pale. His cheeks looked clammy to the touch, beads of sweat dampening the skin and glistening down his forehead. He coughed once, causing a mixture of spittle and blood to drip out of the side of his mouth, discolouring his blindingly-white teeth.

He was definitely on his way out.

After everything he had ever done to control me, cause me such excruciating anguish, beat down my spirit and destroy my sense of self-preservation, his death was a godsend. Though I had never dreamed of being the sort to rejoice in someone else's suffering, I couldn't help the building sense of consolation and relief I felt at watching the seconds of James' life counting down, one by one. I wasn't sorry he was near death, either. Not by a long shot. In fact, what I felt was the exact opposite; his death couldn't come soon enough for me. I would dance on his grave if given the chance.

_Hey, I'm a teacher, not a saint._

I was just sorry that I hadn't been the one who had sent him toward his death. I had frozen like a coward in the kitchen when we had come face to face, and the knife tip was against his stomach. I should have done him some damage then, should have stabbed him, channelling all my hatred and anger toward him in one (or five) swift stabs to the gut.

I should have caused him just a fraction of the pain he had caused my whole life in that moment.

But I froze, and I would never get that moment back. Life was full of regrets, but I wasn't the reason he was dying...maybe indirectly I was, but Edward and Emmett had done what I could not—wound him mortally—and that kinda pissed me off.

Internally, I was furious with myself. As we lay on the floor across from each other, I realized that James had caused the weak version of myself to resurface tonight simply by showing up in Forks and confronting me in my own home. With his appearance here, he had tipped my life upside down and pulled me inside out. A few minutes ago, I had thought that Nathaniel and I were going to die, and that Edward and Emmett would be forced to watch as the life poured out of me. I had no idea whether the shot to my shoulder was life-threatening or not, but I knew I had a better chance of getting out of this situation alive than James did.

As these thoughts were passing through my head, James was lying flat on his back, his head turned to face me so far that his cheek pressed against the floor. His hand rested weakly upon his stomach, covering the spot where Edward had shot him. Higher up, dead centre on his chest, there was another wound that was adding more blood to his t-shirt. There was so much blood that it was no longer white. A thick crimson circle oozed thickly under him on my floor, surrounding him on either side of his body. I cleared my throat roughly and grimaced.

"My name is Bella. And I've never been yours, James. Not in the two years of hell you put me through, and especially not now." I spoke steadily, with purpose and determination, though my whole body was painfully reminding me of my injuries with every word I spoke. I took a deep breath before finishing my thought.

His eyes would never get to look upon me again. His rough hands would never hit me again. His sinister words would never degrade me again. He would never make me feel vulnerable, small, useless, or worthless again. His influence would never take over my actions again. With his death, I would truly be free of him and the tyranny that ruled our house in Boston. Most of all, I would never feel the sort of fear he easily inspired within me again.

Never again.

That thought gave me enough strength to raise my head just enough to throw him a triumphant smile as my eyes bore into his. "Enjoy hell, you fucking bastard," I said lowly. His smirk faltered at my words, and his evil eyes gazed at me for the last time as I watched the fire die out of them and go glassy.

He was gone.

Countless moments passed. It could have been a minute, or an hour. In those moments, I stared listlessly at the body frozen in place before us. I memorized the shape his mouth formed when death had finally taken him, the way his eyelids had drooped half-way over his lifeless eyes. I knew the images would be burned in my mind forever. They would serve as a reminder of him—the only reminder I would ever need again.

Before my eyes reached the bloody holes in his chest, I was pulled out of my daze by the sight of Emmett crouching over James' lifeless body, gun still drawn.

"He's dead for sure this time," Emmett called out. He stepped towards Edward and me, and knelt before us. He returned his gun to its holster and looked us over. "I already called for an ambulance."

"Good. We need to get Bella to the hospital," Edward said to his brother in an urgent tone. "She's losing a lot of blood." Emmett disappeared from view and returned with a towel in his hand. He threw it to Edward, who proceeded to put pressure on my shoulder to slow the bleeding. He touched my left arm quickly but gently to appraise the damage James had inflicted. It was my left side that had been shot, too, so the minute his fingers released the pressure on the gunshot and grazed my wrist, I winced and whimpered. "It's definitely broken, Bella. Shit, if that animal wasn't already dead, I'd kill him all over again for doing this to you."

I nodded in response, the pain too intense to form any coherent words.

Emmett turned and began pacing beside the front door.

I felt tears slide down my face in quiet complaint, finally letting the pain consume me. Every movement I made caused my injuries to sting but I hadn't really thought about it until that moment. I heard Emmett somewhere in the room, on the phone. Though I couldn't really hear everything he said, I caught the words 'intruder', 'back-up', and 'self-defence' said authoritatively. I couldn't really put the words together in any meaningful way because I was trying to work through the pain in my shoulder and wrist. Edward caught my attention again, stroking my cheek in a soothing way. His eyes darted back from Emmett to James, then back to me.

"I know it hurts, baby," he said, pain colouring his tone. "The ambulance is on its way. They're going to take good care of you and I'll be with you as much as they'll let me, I promise." He took a deep breath and whispered to me, "I swear, when I saw that gun pointed at your head, I saw my entire life flash before my eyes." I could feel the passion in his voice. "God, I love you so much, you know that?"

I could only nod and sniffle again as he kissed my forehead. The emotions coursing through me were too intense. I was having a difficult time getting words out at all. Thankfully, Edward didn't need me to put into words what I felt because I knew he was feeling the same overwhelming relief that I was.

"Edward," Emmett said, stopping his pacing and turning towards us. "Since the ambulance is around the corner, we need to get our stories straight. So this is...uh...was...the guy, huh?" he stuttered, referring to the lifeless body lying on my floor. He looked back to me and it was clear he was uncomfortable. Edward nodded at his brother as he rubbed my back, trying to make me forget my pain, but failing in his attempt.

"Yeah, he's the man Mom and Dad helped her leave last year." His words were quiet but emotional. "He deserved far worse than those gunshots for the suffering he caused her."

"Goddamn," Emmett murmured in astonishment, looking at me probably for confirmation. I simply nodded and sniffled. "That bad, huh? I'm just sorry I didn't do worse to him for ya, Bells."

I wanted to tell him that I was thankful to him for busting in on the scene when he did, but I suddenly grew very groggy, probably from the blood loss. Edward noticed immediately and tried to keep me awake.

"Stay with me! You need to stay awake, Bella. Please!"

"I..." I felt my lips moving, but it was hard to make them move correctly. I wanted to tell them both how tired I suddenly was, but the only thing that came out was mumbled nonsense. I felt Edward trying to shake me back to consciousness, but I drifted into darkness quickly, leaving him and Emmett yelling at me to wake up.

I heard the siren of an ambulance wailing in the distance before I passed out.

There were noises—shouting, tension that I couldn't identify. I felt my body being lifted off the ground, and somehow I was sure it was Edward that was holding my hand. I heard him whisper—or maybe it was a yell, I really couldn't tell in my current state—that he loved me a few times before I passed out again.

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A/N:

Despite the title of this chapter, this is NOT the end...just yet...at least two more chapters and an epilogue. ;) Love you all! (even my one flamer...)


	30. Protecting Bella

**I'm not Stephenie Meyer. This story is written for entertainment, not profit...don't sue me. Pretty please?**

Don't kill me, please. Real life has been really busy right now. I'm coordinating fundraisers for the CIBC Run for the Cure in support of the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation, and have been fundraising like crazy!

This is the second-to-last regular chapter before the epilogue. This one came out at a whopping 8000 words, so please, enjoy!

Also, I wanted to point out that my characters are flawed, they make rash decisions and don't always see all angles of things before acting. Case in point, Carlisle. We are so used to Carlisle being an infallible character (because he's a vampire in SM's books) who never makes mistakes. Well, unfortunately, my Carlisle has made a few mistakes. Please keep in mind that he's only human.

And also, please keep in mind that I have never been pregnant, or a doctor, or a policewoman. I'm basing these characterizations on television and movies. ;-)

whew! Enjoy!

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[EPOV]

[Late March, 2010]

After having worked the night shift at the hospital, I arrived back home in the middle of the day. The house was obviously empty except for Bolt who excitedly greeted me as I stepped into the house.

"Hey Bolt," I called, patting his head energetically as I kneeled to his level. He bounced and rubbed his head into my hands happily. "You hungry, buddy? Huh? Let's get you something to eat." I led my dog to the kitchen where he came to a stop in front of the cupboard where his food was kept. He was a smart dog, that was for sure. He sat angelically before the cupboard, tail wagging and waiting patiently. I reached for the handle when my cell phone began ringing incessantly. Bolt's ears rose quickly before his eyes went back up to me, practically imploring me to ignore it and feed him. I chuckled and patted his head.

"Don't worry, Bolt. You're gonna get fed." I grabbed his big bag of dry food and poured his portion into his bowl. The phone had stopped ringing by then, so I put away the bag of food and closed the cupboard before grabbing my phone from my pocket. The caller ID showed me that the missed call had been my dad. It wasn't completely strange that he would call, but I still had the feeling that it had been important. He hadn't left a voicemail, though. _Maybe I should call him back._ As that thought entered my head, the land line began ringing. I left my cell on the counter and picked up the cordless phone that hung on the wall a few feet away.

"Hello?"

"Edward?" It was my dad, sounding worried.

"Hey, Dad. How are you? How's Mom?"

"Good, son. We're good," he replied quietly, alerting me that he was anything _but _fine.

"What is it, Dad? What's the matter?" I took a seat on the sofa in the living room and braced myself for what my father was going to tell me. I had no idea what it could have possibly been about.

I heard my father let out a long breath before beginning. "I didn't want to alarm you or Bella," he sighed then, the strain in the noise evident, "but I fear that my gut feeling has been proven right recently, and you two need to be on high alert. James may be searching for Bella."

"What do you mean? What are you talking about, Dad?" I asked, leaning forward and resting my elbows on my knees.

He sighed again, only this time it was a strange sound, like he was trying to release some unseen tension. "A few months ago, Bella's husband, James, contacted me asking for her file, including her death certificate, be resent to him."

"What?" I cut him off loudly, shocked at the news. I rose from my seat instantly and began pacing back and forth. "Why didn't you-"

"Edward, please just let me finish, son."

I stopped pacing for a moment to answer my father. "Sorry, Dad."

There was another deep breath and a release before he continued. I completely understood his feeling; pacing around my living room was proof positive that I was already starting to feel anxious and he hadn't even told me the whole story yet. Just James' name being mentioned caused my blood to boil and bile to rise in my stomach. The concern I felt wasn't so much for me but for Bella - I knew how she would react to any news about James. She would shut down and start doubting herself again. I remembered the last time she reacted that way, and I felt so helpless to stop those feelings of sadness and terror get hold of her. If I could help it, she'd never have any reason to feel that way again.

"So," my father continued, pulling me from my thoughts, "as I said, he called me and asked for those files to be sent to him. I told him I'd have someone look for the files but it might take a while to find because we moved those things into storage. In truth, I had to have those documents forged correctly and it took a few weeks or so to get them done.

"I gave the task to my assistant to call him and let him know that we had found them. She called the firm where he worked and they told her he had taken an indefinite leave of absence. She then called the number we listed as his home number, and it had been since disconnected."

I wanted to interject numerous times, but my father had asked me to wait until he said everything, so I bit my tongue and allowed him to continue. As he spoke, I found myself returning to the sofa, sitting on the edge of the cushions. My leg began jiggling up and down nervously as I listened to the whole story from my father. Never being one to have that kind of tick, I forcibly stopped my leg from shaking with my arm and took a deep breath.

"I had some contacts do some digging to see where he had relocated to, but none were able to find him. I then went one step further and had an associate of mine take a look into his accounts-"

"You can do that?" I asked, shocked that he had those sorts of connections. I always knew Dad had a few friends in high places, but these contacts had to be a bit on the shady side for them to be able to pull off getting sensitive information like this. I would worry about that later, though; Bella's safety was priority number one right now, and I needed to know all the facts if I was to keep her safe.

And I _was _going to keep her safe.

By any means necessary.

"Not me, but a friend of mine, yes," Dad said without missing a beat.

"Wow, ok," I replied dumbfounded.

Under normal circumstances, Dad would be a tad bit proud of his connections, but now he let the moment pass and continued his thought.

"He cleared out his accounts."

"What do you mean 'cleared out his accounts'?"

"Besides the obvious, he liquidated his assets - sold his condo, sold his BMW, got rid of his stocks. He has one account that still holds a small fortune, but other than that, unless he's opened a new account in the last few weeks under a false name, he's planning to use this money to start over somewhere. At least that's how it appears. So there we are. There's no trace of him anywhere. He's gone missing."

_Missing _could have meant a number of things. Maybe he had been killed by a disgruntled client. Maybe he had gone off the grid and went to live in Southeast Asia with no forwarding address. Or maybe...

I stopped that thought dead in its tracks. It was too dangerous to even think it.

"Ok, but who's to say that he even suspects that Bella is alive? The documents you had forged were completely credible, right?"

"Yes, my guy is the best at what he does. I even tested them against real death certificates and the like at the hospital. No one could tell the difference, even a lawyer like James."

"So, why do you assume that he knows she's alive?"

I heard an uncomfortable grunt on the other end. My father cleared his throat and took a breath. "Well, uh..."

"Dad? What aren't you telling me?" I urged, feeling my anger beginning to rise, but keeping my voice as level as possible.

"Don't be upset at Bella, son."

"What...what could she have possibly done?"

"She sent me a photo of herself and of you from September, one of those that your mother took."

"What?" I exclaimed, feeling my fists curl up. "Why would she do that? I thought we agreed that it would be too dangerous for you to even have the memory card!"

"Yes, well I think she felt safe enough being in Forks that she thought one picture wouldn't cause any harm. And I'm not even 100% positive that it _did_ cause any harm."

"Meaning?" I asked tersely; I was growing tired of Dad's cryptic sentences.

"It was just before New Year's. I had just received the photo in the mail that day and put it in my briefcase to take home with me to keep in my home office. When I got home, the photo was nowhere to be found. I surmise that it fell out of my briefcase when I was at the restaurant, ordering our take out. That's where I ran into James. He was just leaving after having eaten there. He caught me unaware since I was just leaving. That, and he was still wearing his wedding band. I found that off-putting to say the least."

"Fuck! And you waited until now to tell me this, Dad?" I demanded, my voice rising again.

"I didn't think there was even a remote chance that James had seen the photo until all these things started happening. I'm sorry, son," my father said, sounding broken; nothing like the strong father I was used to my whole life. Judging from the tone he used, I was certain that he felt responsible for all of this happening - in a way, he was, as was Bella for sending that picture to my parents - but neither of them really had no way of knowing how this would have played out.

"Shit. This is NOT good," I said, running my free hand through my hair. "But that still doesn't mean that he's found out that Bella is alive..." I surmised hopefully, holding on to a glimmer of hope and ignoring my previous thought in the process.

"Well, the timing of all of this is what makes it suspect in my mind. My friend at the funeral home, the one who helped fake Marie's cremation, Whitney...was...killed... and based on my calculations, it was around the same time that James would have gone M.I.A. That, along with everything else I told you, it all leads me to believe that he's on to us." My father's voice was full of regret and worry, which made me cringe; I had never heard my father sound even remotely fearful or doubtful. He was always so sure of himself and his decisions. The tone of his voice scared me almost as much as what information he had conveyed to me.

"I'm sorry about Whitney, Dad," I said quietly, knowing that he and Dad had been friends since they moved to Boston, "but maybe it could have been a coincidence." I was trying one last time at playing devil's advocate, though I didn't believe one word of it. Dad had presented a valid case, and I knew that his instincts were almost never wrong.

"No, it was as clear as day that it was a targeted murder. It was execution-style and nothing was stolen from his person or his brand-new car. It was an information-seeking mission. I just know it," he said adamantly. "I haven't been able to get any more details on his death than that, but I just know it."

"Would Whitney have told him anything?"

"No, he knew nothing that would have interested James anyway. I only asked him to put on the memorial and fake the cremation. He didn't know where we were taking her, by what route," he sighed, "nothing. He didn't even know your mother was the one to take her across the country, only that she was going to drive her to the airport, and even that wasn't entirely the truth. I specifically kept him in the dark about certain details in order to keep him safe. And in the end, it got him killed anyway..."

I let everything that I had just heard stew in my mind for a moment. Whitney had been murdered, James had taken an indefinite leave of absence, he had left no forwarding address or phone number. Plus, clearing out his bank accounts was a sign of someone who had big plans and who wanted to keep those plans under wraps. The actions described by my father were those of a man who didn't want any ties. He wanted to start over, making sure no one knew where he was.

All these things pointed to only one scenario in my mind, and my dad knew it, too. I rubbed my face with my hands roughly and exhaled loudly, contemplating our next move. Only one thing came to mind:

"Jesus, Dad, I have to tell Bella."

"No, son, I don't think that's wise. You know as well as I do that any unnecessary stress right now could negatively impact the baby," he admonished gently.

Dammit, I did know that, but that didn't make the situation any easier to take. James could have been lurking around the corner at that very moment, but I couldn't so much as warn Bella to be on her guard for fear of putting her and our baby in danger. How the hell was I supposed to keep her safe without giving her even the slightest indication that my father suspected James was on to her? I couldn't very well watch her every second of every day...

But I would try.

I had to, for her and our baby's safety.

"I know, Dad, but she's stronger than that. Besides, she needs to know that he may be coming for her."

"Edward, listen to me. Judging by the date that he was last seen in Boston, which was about a week ago, I would say that if he _had _located Bella, he would have already come into contact with her. Maybe he still's still searching, maybe he's waiting, and maybe he's gone to Aruba and is currently drinking a Margarita on the beach. Either way, telling Bella now may only harm her. You haven't seen anything out of the ordinary lately around town, have you? No new arrivals? No one acting suspiciously?"

I thought about it for a moment before answering. "Not that I've noticed."

"Has Bella acted strangely? More nervous lately? Anxious? Not sleeping well?"

"No, no more than usual."

I heard my father let out a breath, as if my words brought him some sort of relief. "Well, that's something at least. Bella is astute. I haven't known her long, but I know that about her. If someone were watching her or following her, I suspect that she'd know about it."

"So what do we do, Dad? I can't tell her, but I can't very well lock her away in the house, waiting for him to strike."

"If he's even in Forks."

"Right. So what should I do?"

"Watch her for any changes in her behaviour, keep a vigilant eye out around town, note anything suspicious, and most of all, keep Bella safe. At least until we have reason to believe that James is in Forks, this is all we can do. Talk to Emmett. See if there's any light he can shed on the situation."

"Alright," I agreed, resigned to his suggestions.

"Edward, please keep me up to date with everything, alright? If anything changes, anything at all, even something that you would dismiss as unimportant, give me a call, alright?"

"Of course, Dad. I'll give Em a call now to let him know."

"Ok. Be safe, son."

"We will. Thanks for calling, Dad. Even though you probably should have called sooner..."

"I know, and I'm sorry for my lapse in judgement, son. I didn't want to worry you until I felt it was absolutely necessary."

The kid in me rolled his eyes at my father. "Yeah, I'd say it's pretty necessary at this point." I couldn't keep the sarcasm out of my voice, and regretted it the instant the words left my mouth.

My father sighed apologetically. "I realize. Again, I am sorry."

"What's done is done. Now we have to make sure Bella is safe. I'll call if anything happens. Give Mom a kiss from us."

"Ok, Edward. You take care of yourself and Bella."

"I will. Bye, Dad."

When I hung up, my mind was going a mile a minute. I took a seat in the living room and let my mind roam free over all that I had learned from the call and what I planned to do about it all.

What the fuck could I possibly do to keep my fiancée safe in the event that her husband came to Forks to find her? Was there a possibility that he was already in Forks? Could he have been watching us?

Maybe my father was right and there was absolutely no reason to panic. If that was the case, I'd be forever grateful to any God that would listen. Bella's safety was the most important thing right now, but if there was no need to worry her, Dad was right - why put unnecessary stress on her or the baby? The last thing she needed was to complicate her pregnancy.

I concluded my thought by deciding that I wouldn't tell Bella about my father's phone call unless it became glaringly obvious that James was in town, stalking her.

How had this gotten so out of hand?

Fuck! What was she thinking sending that photo? I knew she had the kindest heart of anyone I knew, but she was also the most trusting, and that was probably the one thing I wished she could change about herself. She had grown complacent, feeling safe and secure in our sleepy little town, unaware that anything was possible when dealing with a man with access to unlimited funds and unlimited amounts of rage, like James.

My God.

She never thought it would matter, that the photo would remain in my father's possession, that he'd probably put it in his home office. The thought probably never even crossed her mind that my father would even run into James in the crowded downtown Boston area. Why would she even think that at all? Their professions couldn't be more different from one another, and their work would never bring them together. Still, it was a risk to even send an updated picture anywhere _near _the state of Massachusetts!

By the time I looked up at the clock hanging on the wall, it was almost time for Bella to get home from work; I had been sitting in the same position for nearly forty minutes, contemplating the situation.

Everything was different now. I needed to keep my pregnant fiancée safe from James, whether he was in Forks or not. The only conclusion I came to was that I needed to keep a closer eye on her. I would recruit Emmett to help, too. Being a cop had its advantages, and one would be to know of any suspicious behaviour or people entering our little town. Surely if anything odd had happened recently, he and his colleagues would know.

I prayed that was the case.

I had about twenty minutes before I expected Bella home so I picked up the cordless phone that I had let fall beside me on the couch, and dialled my brother's cell number.

Without being descriptive, I told Emmett about Dad's suspicions, and how James might already be in town, watching us. Em told me that he hadn't seen anything out of the ordinary, but that he'd keep an eye out and make sure a patrol car was always within a mile of our house, even if he personally had to do it. At this point, I had no reason to be overly worried. We would just keep an eye out, and the second anything happened to rouse our suspicion, I would tell Bella everything, pregnant or not. She deserved to know if someone was following her or watching her.

Thankfully, nothing happened to make us think that James was in town. A whole month passed before the spring carnival was held near Town Hall. We were both extremely excited about it; she was excited because it reminded her of a carnival back home, and I was excited because I loved Ferris Wheels, and I wanted to show her off to the townspeople. Emmett and I agreed that this could be the perfect opportunity for James to make his presence known, so Emmett decided it would be best if he and Rose met us at the carnival, under the guise of a double date.

Bella and I split for a few minutes to grab different treats, and I tried to keep my eyes on her the entire time. The moment I turned to pay for my hot dog though, Bella had disappeared.

The only thing that ran through my mind as I dropped the hotdog and flew past the people giving me strange looks was that James had gotten to her. _James has her. He waited until my guard was down, and he struck._

I ran through a crowd of people, my eyes scanning them as I went, when I heard my name being called. It was Emmett. He ran up to me, appraising me quickly. My brother instantly recognized my worry and frowned, eyebrows drawn downward to match my own expression.

"What is it? Why did Bella take off?" he asked quickly.

"You saw her? Where?" I ran a hand through my hair and spun around as quickly as I could to be able to see everything around me. Emmett motioned towards the Town Hall.

"Rosalie saw her running toward the bathrooms. I told her I'd come and find you."

I released the breath I had been holding and my shoulders sunk down in relief. "Oh thank God." I gripped his shoulder and walked with him briskly toward the bathrooms.

Once there, we waited outside until Bella came out, looking like she had just splashed water on her face. When we went home, she told me that she had felt a paranoia that she hadn't felt in a long while. I couldn't help but tell her how I thought that _he _had come and taken her from me and that I had failed to protect her. Thankfully, she laughed at my admission, saying that she was the only one who should be paranoid in this relationship. Our laughter eased the tension of the day, and we spent the evening making love and relishing the feeling of being in each other's arms.

The next day, Emmett called me, telling me that he had something to report.

"Yesterday outside the bathrooms, I saw a dude that looked...off. Like he was out of place at a carnival. I mean, sure, he was holding some cotton candy and all, but his body language gave me the creeps. It probably has nothing to do with Bella at all, but I thought you'd want to know."

"Why do you say that?"

"Well, he was standing close enough to be watching everything that had been happening with Bella. I was going to approach him and show him my badge when I saw him wave to his buddies and take off."

I mulled over that information in my mind before replying. "What did he look like?" I asked.

"Well, he was tall, maybe about 6'3 or 6'4, wearing a dark hoodie that was pulled up over his head. I couldn't see what colour his hair was. But what struck me was that he wore a golden wedding ring. It kinda shone in the light when he was eating his cotton candy, which was blue by the way."

"Dad had said that James was still wearing his wedding ring, even after all this time," I said quietly.

"God, bro, do you think that might have been him? I mean, the description fit," he commented thoughtfully.

"It could have been, yeah," I replied, banging my fist against the table. "Fuck! I can't believe I let him get that close to us, to Bella! Goddamnit, Em!"

"Edward, you had no idea. You can't beat yourself up over this. She's safe-"

"Yeah, for the time being," I interjected. I heard my brother huff.

"And if we have anything to say about it, she'll stay like that. Listen, I'm going to increase the patrols around the house. Now, though, you need to relax."

"How can I, Em? Her crazed husband is watching us. Probably has the house scoped out."

"We won't do her any favours by freaking the fuck out right now. Dad said we can't tell her because of the baby, and you know he's right, so we'll have to keep her safe ourselves." My brother sighed then, a sign that he was worried. "Call me, day or night, if anything suspicious happens, alright?"

"Yeah."

"In the meantime, do I have your permission to tell Rose about this situation?"

"I don't-"

"We need another pair of eyes on the house," he reasoned, cutting me off. "She's been trained with a gun, too." I detected a hint of pride in Emmett's voice.

I let out a breath and said, "Do what you have to do, Emmett."

"Ok. We'll keep her safe, bro. Believe that."

"We have to, Em. She's my life. If something happens to her, I...I don't..."

"Edward," Emmett called with an air of authority and confidence I only heard him use while on duty. "That fucker won't touch her. He'll be as good as dead if he even tries it. I promise you."

I left for work after tucking Bella in for the night with a feeling of dread settled at the pit of my stomach. Maybe it was because when I left, Bella was in a bad mood and uncomfortable, or maybe it was because I was leaving her at all. Since she had entered the late stages of pregnancy, I found myself hating the fact that I had to leave her at all more and more everyday. If I had my way, I'd be by her side every minute to make sure she was at ease, content, and above all, safe. I was more freaked out than ever about her safety, but of course there was no way I would let on about it to her. I let her believe I was just becoming _really _overprotective because of her pregnancy, which was a half-truth. The majority of my protectiveness stemmed from the fact that I was terrified that when I left her side, it would be the last time I'd see her.

Bolt had freaked out that day, barking like mad at the window like he had heard someone standing there. Bella shrugged it off, but I knew better. There was a good chance that someone _had _been standing there, looking in, watching us like a hunter stalking his prey. I resolved to call Emmett when I arrived at the hospital for my shift and ask him to check things out near the house.

I parked in my usual spot at the hospital and walked through the doors when my cell phone went off. I pulled it out of my pocket and checked who was calling.

_Emmett_.

I took a deep breath and answered the phone.

"Hey, Em, I was just about to call you. What's up?"

"Where are you right now?" Emmett asked, ignoring my question with a sense of urgency in his voice.

"Uh...about to start my shift at the hospital. Why?"

"Rose just called me, told me there was this beige Corolla parked two houses away from ours a few days ago, and she didn't think anything of it then but now, she just saw it pull up again, and the guy who got out bore a striking resemblance to James. I showed her a copy of his Massachusetts driver's license."

"Fuck," was the only word that formulated in my mouth.

"And he was walking in the direction of your house. I'm on the way over there right now."

"I'm leaving the hospital," I said quickly, turning sharply back around and out the front door towards my car.

"Meet you at your house." With that, Emmett hung up. I took a minute to leave a message with my supervisory doctor, telling him Bella was having a rough night and that I'd be in as soon as I could. Thankfully he understood and wished me a good night.

I drove like a possessed demon, coming exceptionally close to running a red light in order to get home.

Once I arrived there, the lights in our house were on. Before I left, I had turned everything off, so I knew she was out of bed...or worse...

I pulled up on the driveway, shut off the car, and practically ran into the house.

"Bella?" I yelled. No answer. I ran up the stairs and burst through the bedroom where all I found was an empty bed. No Bella. I then heard Bolt shuffle into the room. He came up to my leg and nudged me. "Where is Bella?" I asked him as I patted his head briefly. As if he had understood me and wanted me to follow him, he turned and _literally _bolted from the room. "Bolt?" I called behind him as I followed him out of the room. I saw him run down the stairs and begin clawing at the front door and barking madly. Had Bella left the house? Why would she have done that?

I opened the door and came face to face with Emmett, wearing his typical cop uniform, his arm raised, about to knock.

"Is she ok?" he asked worriedly.

"She's not here."

"What? Where the hell is she?"

Before I had time to answer him, something across the street drew my attention; Bella's house. Emmett watched my expression change and followed my gaze to the house. Though he didn't say it, I knew he was thinking the same thing; she was in there and he had her. "Mother fucker."

I walked over to the house, Emmett trailing behind me with his gun drawn. I knocked the way I normally did to notify Bella that it was me at the door. When she didn't answer, Emmett nodded at me to say something. I called to her and put my ear to the door. It was then that I heard whispers that confirmed my worst fear; James was with her and was threatening her. When I heard her response to me, and her use of my all-time hated nickname, _Eddie_, I knew she was in deep, deep trouble. I worked hard at keeping my voice level as I told her that I'd see her at home, though I couldn't say the same for her. She sounded so afraid and tense. I made a production of walking loudly off the porch toward Emmett.

We waited a few minutes before almost tip-toeing back to the front door. I put my ear to the door again and heard him say that he was going to make her pay. Emmett backed up against the door, his gun raised just like someone who was about to break down a door with a kick.

"Wait!" I whispered urgently, my hand reaching his forearm speedily. "Aren't you going to call some backup or help? What if he has a gun or something in there?"

He looked apologetic as he answered. "I put in a call already, but there's some big arrest happening on the other end of town, and all available units are there. Once things calm down, some of my buddies will come this way. Hopefully it won't be too late to help us," he said under his breath.

Then, without warning, Emmett kicked open the door and yelled "FREEZE!" as he pushed the door out of his way with his foot. I entered the house behind him and my jaw dropped as Bella and James came into view.

"Oh my God! Bella!" I cried as I took her in. Not only did she look like she was in pain, but she was absolutely terrified, her eyes wide and filled with unshed tears. I had never seen her so dishevelled, so disordered - it made my blood run cold. Her face was covered with red blotches, quickly forming bruises on her normally flawless skin. Bits of her hair had come loose from her ponytail and wisped across her cheeks. She appeared out of breath, like she had just finished running a marathon, her chest heaving up and down with the force of her breath. I looked lower and realized that she was holding her left wrist in such a way that made me believe that it was broken or sprained. It didn't help the anger that I felt was boiling beneath the surface.

He was holding a gun to her temple.

The next few minutes after that were a blur of threats, revelations, and promises of bodily harm from both sides of the confrontation. I only fully grasped the danger we were in when James said his goodbyes to Bella, insisting that her name was Marie, and his grip tightened on the trigger. I did the only thing I could think of then; I launched myself at James, trying to pry the gun out of his iron grip. We struggled for a few minutes, none of us really gaining the upper hand in the fight.

When the gun went off, somehow I kept waiting to feel pain. I kept thinking that I must have been in shock because the pain would be immense, judging from where the shot would have landed. I would have continued to wonder where the pain was, but I heard James' almost inaudible gasp of surprise mixed with pain beneath me, and it was then that I knew the shot had hit him in the stomach.

Bella was nearly inconsolable until I lifted myself from James' prone body. I took her in my arms and breathed her scent in, inspected her from top to bottom, and kissed every part of her that I could reach until James decided to stop playing dead and lifted the gun, aiming it at my beloved Bella.

Life as I knew it ceased to exist in that moment for me. Something was threatening the reason I woke up in the morning; Bella.

The instant the trigger was pulled, the air was sucked from my lungs and all I could do was watch as the bullet ripped through her. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched as Emmett placed another well-deserving bullet into James' chest. He dropped the gun and struggled for breath as I got to Bella's side. My breath only returned to me after I realized that she was not seriously hurt by the shot; it had hit her shoulder and thankfully no vital organs. She was, however, losing blood quickly. When she fought through the pain enough to stare her bastard husband in the eye and tell him to 'enjoy Hell', I was never more proud of her than in that moment. She had literally faced the source of her fear and told it to essentially fuck off.

I had seen enough patients die to know what death looked like. So when I saw the tell-tale signs of life fade from the sinister eyes of James Huntington, I let out a sigh of relief. He was really gone. I gripped Bella as tightly as I could without hurting her and exchanged some words with my brother, confirming the identity of the man he and I had just had an equal hand in killing.

A few moments later, I felt Bella's body slumping down as if she were losing consciousness. I tried to shake her and begged her to stay awake, and that I loved her, but she slipped into a sleep-like state despite my pleas. Thankfully, the sirens were already wailing closer and closer to the house by then.

Within minutes, the paramedics were hurrying about, checking her vitals and strapping her into the gurney. Emmett and I trailed behind them as they loaded her into the ambulance. The scene was something out of a movie; there were four or five cop cars parked along the street with their lights still on, seemingly illuminating the entire street. A fire truck was parked just behind the cruisers, and the one ambulance waiting for me to get into it on the driveway. Two or three officers were conversing about the situation on the lawn, their faces drawn with worry and concern, while two others were using the yellow crime scene tape to prevent anyone from coming onto the lawn. Before I got into the ambulance to accompany Bella to the hospital, Emmett took me aside.

"I have to stay here to secure the scene, bro." Emmett rested his hand on my shoulder in a comforting gesture that did not go unnoticed. He brought his head a bit closer toward mine, almost like he was going to tell me a secret. "Tell Bella not to say anything until I get there, alright?" he said in a hushed voice. "I'll take care of this. Just remember, we had no idea who this guy was."

"Yeah," I said with a nod. "Thanks, Em."

Emmett took me into a brief manly hug, patting my back twice in the process. "You're welcome, Edward. I'll be around to see how she's doing in a little while."

I turned back to the ambulance and got in, immediately seeking Bella's limp hand for some form of comfort as I heard the doors close behind me. One of the EMT's, a young woman with bright blonde hair in a tight ponytail, smiled at me with a small smile of polite recognition. We knew each other from the hospital; her name was Grace. I was unfamiliar with the other EMT who quickly introduced himself as Bryan. He was heavier set, with short, dark hair and black-rimmed glasses.

"Her vitals are good," Grace confirmed and she and Bryan busied themselves with Bella and the machines surrounding us.

I let out a sigh of sheer relief. "Thank God."

The ambulance was about to leave when there was a knock on the doors. Being the closest one to the doors, I bent and hunched over to open them. It was Emmett, and he appeared to have been running. He held his closed fist out to me, urging me to take whatever was in his hand. I opened my hand and he let something small and sparkly fall into it.

_Bella's engagement ring._

"Thought she might want this when she woke up," Emmett said with a brief grin.

"Thanks," I said solemnly, sharing a meaningful look with my brother. _How had it gotten off her finger? Where had he found it?_ He understood and nodded, then stepped backward and shut the doors again. A moment later, the ambulance started rolling away from the house and the scene. I leaned, resting my elbows on my knees and inspected the piece of jewellery in my hand that held so much meaning to me. It gleamed and shone, even in the dim ambulance lights.

The exchange between my brother and I didn't go unnoticed by Grace. I knew she was watching me as I stared at the white gold ring that I was now holding delicately between my thumb and forefinger.

"So this is your Bella, huh? Don't worry, she's going to be fine, Dr. Cullen," she murmured in a light voice as she adjusted Bella's IV. Her tone reassured me. Though I already knew she would be fine, hearing it from someone else confirmed it for me and made me calmer somehow.

I nodded and looked back to Bella's engagement ring that still sat in my palm. The tiny ring in my hand was far too precious for me to just put it in my pocket, so I slid it onto my pinkie, where it would stay until Bella was awake.

I spent the rest of the short trip to the hospital informing Grace and Bryan of Bella's injuries, how many weeks pregnant she was, what her medical history was, and so on. Grace took note of everything I told her. When we arrived at the hospital, I rushed at Bella's side as Grace and Bryan carted her in.

She was immediately taken into the ER where they would close the bullet wound and stop the bleeding, monitoring her for any changes or complications with the baby. Because of my position with the hospital, the ER nurses with whom I was quite familiar, had me wait in the staff room, which was currently empty, but I couldn't sit still; my mind was racing and the only thing that would calm me was to be able to look into my beautiful Bella's eyes and tell her that I loved her. I paced back and forth, unnerved by the thoughts that harassed me. The back of my mind kept nagging at me, reminding me that Bella could go into labour at any moment because of the trauma she had experienced that night. I quelled the thoughts, replacing them with happier thoughts. Thoughts that included the moment James Huntington died, the triumphant look on my fiancée's face when she told him off before he breathed his last. Now all I needed was for Bella to awaken, and I'd be able to rest tonight. I knew I would be better to have some support as I waited, so I called Rosalie, asking her to meet me at the hospital. After I disconnected with Rosalie, I began dialling my parents' home in Boston when I heard the door to the staff room swing open. I looked up and saw one of the ER nurses, Betty, there, smiling.

"She's awake and asking for you, Edward," Betty relayed, beaming. I wasted no time following her out of the room and into the ER.

Bella already looked so much better than how she had when I had left her in the ER earlier. She had a bruise forming around her neck with what looked distinctly like hand marks there - something I hadn't seen there before - and a darkening reddish mark angrily staining her cheek. Since I had known her, she had always had a look of fear and apprehension about her, as if she was constantly waiting for him to come and find her. Now, however, it had disappeared from her face. She was tired and weary, but she no longer housed that ever-present fear in her eyes. As she lay there in the hospital bed, her arms over the covers and her hands resting protectively upon her belly, somehow she exuded a sense of calm tranquillity and a strength that I had never seen from her before. I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that it had everything to do with James' demise.

She had nothing to be scared of now.

He wasn't coming to get her.

He wasn't lurking around the corner.

She didn't have to look over her shoulder any more.

The possibility of him finding her and taking away everything she had worked towards this past year had disappeared with his death.

She had seen with her own eyes the life draining out of him, the deathly look he wore before his eyes went blank.

She knew he was gone, had seen it happen.

She was free.

I had been standing by the curtain, watching her and making my assessment for a few moments before she noticed me standing there. Once she did, her smile, while tired, still lit up the ER. She raised her arm, beckoning me toward her but cringed when it seemed she remembered her injuries. I instantly saw the stark-white cast her wrist was freshly wrapped in and the sling that it was encased in.

"Bella," I breathed as I reached her and cupped her face as gently as I possibly could, avoiding her bruises. She leaned in toward my touch and sighed. "I love you so much, baby. So much," I whispered passionately, bringing my lips to her forehead and pressing them there a few times.

"Love you, too," she replied, her quiet voice telling me she was fighting back tears. It was understandable; it had been an absolutely horrible evening. I had almost lost her more than once tonight; the thought alone was enough to bring me to tears.

"How are you feeling? Any pain?" I asked, moving a stray strand of hair off her shoulder behind her ear slowly, enjoying every inch of contact I had with her skin. It reminded me that she was lying before me, safe and healthy, albeit injured and probably hurting all over.

"I'm kinda numb except for my lower back. It's been throbbing since I came to."

Alarm bells went off in my head; that was a sign of the beginnings of labour. I did the math in my head before speaking. She was almost three weeks away from her due date. Logically speaking, if she were to go into labour now, Nathaniel would be alright. I just didn't want our son to be born as a result of the trauma Bella had suffered tonight. I wanted to remember the day I became a father as a happier day, not the emotional rollercoaster that we had been on for the past few hours, but I had no control over anything except to help Bella through her labour pains if this really was it.

My fears were confirmed when Bella suddenly moaned in pain, arching her back off the angled bed in an attempt to alleviate the discomfort. She shut her eyes tightly and I could see her clenching her jaw. The blankets on her bunched in her fist as she bore down.

"Wow," she said after the pain seemed to have subsided. "What was that?"

"Probably your first contraction, love," I said as calmly as possible.

"Contraction? But it's not time yet! He's too early!"

"Let's get the nurse in here and let her call your doctor." She nodded at my suggestion and pressed the call button at her bedside. Betty, her nurse, came around and checked her out. With a smile, she looked at the two of us and said, "I think it's safe to say that your little guy is getting ready to make his grand appearance tonight!"

* * *

A/N:

Alright, we're nearly done, and we're about to meet Nathaniel in the next chapter. Until then!

Oh, and if you would like to sponsor me as I participate in the CIBC Run for the Cure in support of the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation, go to: www . runforthecure . com/ goto / tima

Thanks!


	31. A Newfound Peace

Gadzukes, what's this? An update? Yes, dear and beloved readers, this is an update! I have been keeping this final chapter to myself for far too long, but I have a good reason for it...at least for the last few months...

My husband and I are expecting our first child! I'm currently 3 and a half months along, so that explains the last few months...it's been crazy with all the secret keeping and fatigue and eventually telling everyone...it's been a wonderful rollercoaster...well, except for the fatigue, but I've always loved to sleep, so it's nothing new, haha.

Anyway, besides that tiny blip (or Peanut, as my husband calls the baby), my absence is not excusable. So, to you, my fans, and those of you who have kindly emailed and messaged me asking for an update and to make sure I'm ok, I say I am sincerely sorry for the delay, but hope that a near 7000 word chapter will partly make up for my lack of updates lately...

This is the final chapter. I may or may not write an epilogue, depending upon fan reaction. I don't want to make you wait forever again, so I'll get working on it immediately if the reaction calls for it.

My usual disclaimer: I'm not Stephenie Meyer, please don't sue me. I need all the cash I can get now that I realize how expensive maternity clothing is!

Added disclaimer: I'm not a police officer, so I'm just winging the conversation that would take place - it's based on various episodes of Criminal Minds and CSI. Also, as I will be experiencing child birth at the end of April for the first time, please keep in mind that I skimmed over parts of the birth because I don't have a lot of details...nor do I think people would want to read them! Please suspend your disbelief a while longer with me!

And now, the feature presentation: the final chapter! And you're in for a treat - Edward's POV!

* * *

**[EPOV]**

Bella was going into labour!

Her eyes widened at Betty's confirmation to us. "Isn't it too soon?" she asked worriedly.

Betty shook her head as she flipped a page on Bella's chart, reading over briefly before replying. "No, dear, he's ready. We'll have to keep an eye on him for a few hours after his birth, but I'd say he'll be here by this evening if all goes well."

Betty left to page Bella's doctor and pulled the curtain around us, separating us from another patient and giving us the illusion of privacy.

"Bella, are you alright?" I asked as I studied her frightened face. After a moment of silence, she nodded hesitantly. "Sweetheart, is there anything I can do?"

She was pensive for a moment, still visibly shaken by the realization that Nathaniel was on his way to us. "Call my mom, please?"

"Of course, love. Before I do that, though, I'm going to make sure they move you to a private room so you can be more comfortable, OK, baby?"

"OK." Her voice told me she could care less that at moment where she gave birth and that she would rather I not leave, but I knew it had been something we had discussed beforehand that she wanted.

"I'll be right back, love," I assured her before I kissed her forehead, my lips lingering a bit longer than they normally would.

I left the room and walked down the hall towards the nurses' station to talk to someone about getting Bella moved to a private room. As I turned the corner, I heard a gruff voice call out to me.

"Mr. Cullen?"

I spun to see who was speaking and found two police officers before me, the tallest of which was holding a note pad and a pen. The shorter of the two held his badge for me to clearly see.

"Yes?"

"My name is Officer Harrison," the taller of the two said, and then motioned to the man standing to his right, "and this is my partner, Officer McGreary. We'd like to ask you some questions about the body we found in Isabella Swan's home."

I felt a tension rise in my chest at his request. I wasn't yet ready to face these questions. "Can this wait, Officers? My fiancée just went into labour. I have a few phone calls to make before our son is born..."

"It won't take long, Mr. Cullen," Officer McGreary replied offhandedly. "We just want to know if you knew the man. All the other questions we have can wait until tomorrow."

I nodded and replied, "No, I didn't know him at all. I have absolutely no idea why he was there."

"Had you ever seen him around town?" Officer Harrison asked before scribbling something on his notepad.

"No, never."

"Did Ms. Swan know him personally?"

"No."

"You sound pretty sure," Officer McGreary commented, an eyebrow raised in suspicion.

"She is my fiancée; I could tell by the terrified expression on her face. That and she kept asking him who he was as he held her at gunpoint." I added that last point, making a mental note to remind Bella of the story I told the officers. Thankfully, both officers didn't appear to be dubious of my comment. Still, I would keep it at that unless pressed to elaborate, which was something I prayed to God that they wouldn't do.

Officer Harrison finished writing and looked up at me, giving me a small conciliatory smile. "Ok, that's really all we need to know for now. Your brother told us that you called him after you returned home and found her being held by this man with a gun to her head."

I sighed as I recalled the terrifying scene Emmett and I had stormed into. I nodded. "Yeah. He nearly killed her. A complete stranger." My own words chilled me to the bone and I shuddered. The thought still terrified me; had Emmett and I arrived at Bella's house five minutes later, we might have been visiting Bella's body in the lower level of this hospital – the morgue.

"Well," Officer McGreary said finally, with a compassionate look in his eye, "This looks to me to be a straight-forward case of self-defense. We will still need a statement from your fiancée when she's up for it."

"Of course," I agreed. "Do you have any idea who that man was, or why he attacked Bella?" I asked, sounding as curious as I could.

Officer Harrison shook his head and looked down at his notes before meeting my stare. "He had no ID on him. We found an abandoned Corolla down the street that was probably his, but it was purchased with cash. We're checking the Missing Person's Reports to see if anyone has reported him missing in the last month. It seems like he's a drifter, judging by his haggard appearance and his lack of ID."

After the officers shared a brief look, Officer McGreary said, "Alright, well, we'll be around tomorrow for Ms. Swan's statement. We'll take your official statement then as well. Good luck with the birth of your son, Mr. Cullen. And congratulations." I nodded my thanks to them, shook their hands, and watched them walk away down the hallway towards the elevators. Once they were safely out of sight, I pulled out my phone and dialled Emmett. He answered immediately.

"Bro! How's Bella?" he asked without saying hello.

"She's ok, but she's gone into labour."

"Shit!" Emmett cried.

"I know, but her contractions just started and that can take hours. Can you meet me at the hospital? Rose is on the way now."

"Sure, my shift is nearly done. By the way, did two officers come and talk to you yet?"

"Yeah, Harrison and McGreary. They just left."

Emmett sighed, sounding a bit more relaxed after hearing that news. "Alright, cool. What did they ask you?"

"Em, we'll talk when you get here, alright? I have to call Mom and Dad and Bella's parents." I was anxious to fulfil Bella's request sooner rather than later.

"Alright, alright, gimme, like, two hours. The coroner just left with the body and the crime unit is still working the scene, but they're nearly done. I'll lock up after they leave. We'll talk in a little while, alright?"

"Ok, thanks, Emmett," I said gratefully. "Bye."

Once I disconnected with Emmett, I dialled Mom and Dad's house. I almost felt badly that I was calling them this early - it was nearly 6am in Boston - but they needed to know what was happening now, so I continued the call.

The phone rang a few times before my groggy-sounding mother answered the phone. "Hello?"

"Mom? I'm sorry to be calling so early but-"

"What is it?" Mom suddenly sounded alert and worried instantly. "What's wrong? Is Bella OK?" I could hear my father's voice in the background, asking who it was on the phone. She told him it was me quietly and I heard him speak again, only this time, I couldn't understand what he was saying.

"She's fine, Mom," I said, looking around me before continuing in a hushed voice, "James was here. He attacked her."

I heard two sharp gasps, telling me that Mom had put my call on speaker phone. "Oh God," my father said miserably. "Is she alright?"

"Yes, thank God. I got to her in time." I paused a moment before saying, "He's dead, Dad."

I heard sniffling before anyone replied. "God help me, but you don't know how relieved that makes us, son," Dad said in a hushed whisper, almost as if he were ashamed for saying it, but I couldn't help but share in his relief and I sure as hell wasn't ashamed.

I wanted to go into detail with them to get everything that had happened off my chest, but I figured it would wait for a more appropriate time. Now, I needed to tell them about the bright spot in this whole ordeal.

"Mom, Dad, Bella just went into labour."

Another gasp on the other end of the phone made me smirk. "Our grandson is coming?"

"Yeah, Mom. He's on his way."

"Bella must be terrified," Mom commented more to herself than to us. "I know I was when I went into labour with you, Edward."

"Considering everything she's been through tonight, she's doing extremely well. She's so brave." My voice flooded with pride at the thought.

"Yes, she is," she agreed without missing a beat. "We are so very proud of her, Edward. She's been through so much, but she's still so strong. God, to be face to face with that monster…after believing that she was free of him…" My mother's voice trailed off.

I took a breath and said, "He confronted her in her house. She was alone with him for at least a half hour, but she managed to delay him until we got to her."

"I can't imagine how she must be feeling right now," Mom said quietly. "Have you called anyone to be there with you two? Emmett? Alice?"

"Emmett was with me when I found Bella with James. He was the one who fired the killing shot, but not before James was able to shoot Bella."

"What?" My mother's voice rose an octave when she heard that. I instantly felt badly for making her worry about Bella more than once during the course of this conversation.

"In the shoulder, Mom. She's fine. They removed the bullet and stopped the bleeding." There was a very audible sigh of relief on the other end of the phone, so I continued with my original sentence. "When we got to the hospital, I called Rose. She's on her way now. I didn't want to burden Alice with this just yet."

"She'll want to know what's happening, Edward. She loves Bella like a sister," she gently reprimanded.

As always, Mom was right, so I told her so after I sighed, and then said, "I'll call her in a minute. I promised Bella that I would call her parents and let them know what's happening here."

"Maybe they will be able to visit now," Mom said hopefully. "I'm sure her parents miss her terribly, and vice versa." I hadn't thought about it until that moment, and I didn't see a problem with them visiting, now that the reason we had kept our location a secret, was gone.

"Hmm. You have a point. And I know for a fact that Bella wishes she could see her parents." My mind brought me back to the day we learned Rene and Charlie's house had been destroyed by a fire—a fire that we now knew was orchestrated by James. Bella's frantic voice flooded my mind briefly…

"_I can't wait anymore, Edward. I have to see them…I haven't seen them in almost two years...knowing that their lives were in danger just makes the need to see them all the greater…"_

"That would be a wonderful surprise for her, dear," Mom said, pulling me out of my flashback. "Tell us more about what happened. How did you and Emmett know she was in danger? How long has she been in labour? Why did—"

"Esme, he'll tell us everything when we get there. I just booked our flight to Seattle," Dad interrupted, his voice rising and lowering in volume, as if he were walking around the room.

"Really?" I asked, the hope in my voice unmistakable. Despite the fact that I was a grown man who was about to be a father myself, I still needed my parents at this time to support me. Their physical proximity to me would help calm me down, I was sure of it.

"Your father was booking the tickets online while we were talking. The flight leaves at...12:40PM. Carlisle, couldn't you have reserved a sooner flight?"

"That was the earliest flight. The next one was at 11:27PM. Edward, we have a connection in Minneapolis. We should be in Seattle by 7PM your time."

"What about work, Dad? You can't just drop everything and come here without at least a few weeks' notice, can you?"

"Let me figure that out, son." He sounded confident, as if he had already been planning to come to Forks before I had even called. "You just take care of Bella. She needs you now to keep her calm and help her through this." I knew Dad was right. After all, he'd done this three separate times before.

"I will, Dad. I just have to call her parents and then I'll get back to her." I sighed. "Thanks for coming. She'll be so happy to see you two."

Dad chuckled. "And hopefully you will be, too, right?" Mom laughed as well, the previous tension of my initial news forgotten.

"Yeah, you know I'm always happy to see you guys. I just wish it could be more often."

My father cleared his throat then, as if he had wanted to say something further but it had been stifled. "I know, Edward."

"Give Bella our love. We should get packing Carlisle!" Mom said excitedly, sounding half her age at the prospect of seeing us.

Dad chuckled again and said, "Yes, dear. Edward, we'll call you when we land. We'll see you soon."

"Alright, Dad. Safe trip."

I hung up and was about to walk towards the nurses' station to discuss getting Bella her own delivery room when I heard my name being called. Rose and Alice were hurrying toward me, worried expressions clouding their faces. I guessed that Rose had called Alice, which was fine by me since it saved me a phone call. I smiled and met them halfway down the hall. Alice was the first to wrap her arms around me in a tight hug.

"How is she? How are you? Emmett told us there was a shooting..."

My little sister was working herself up with worry and I had to calm her down. "We're both fine, Alice," I said, rocking as we hugged and rubbing her back with the flat of my hand. "Bella's in labour, though."

"What?" Rosalie was the one to speak. "Really?" The worry left her face, and excitement replaced it. I released Alice and hugged Rosalie.

"Yeah," I replied. "Her contractions are still pretty far apart, but she's definitely in labour."

"Did you call Mom and Dad yet?" Alice asked, bouncing with happy energy now.

"Yeah, just got off the phone with them. They're flying in at 7 tonight."

"That's great!" Alice squealed in delight. "And her parents?"

"I still need to call them. Once I take care of Bella's transfer to her own room, I'll call them."

Alice waved a hand at me and smiled. "I'll take care of that. You go call your in-laws." I looked at her and Rose questioningly.

"You sure?"

"Absolutely. I can work my Cullen charm on the nurses. And Rose here will slap them if they don't comply. Won't you, Rose?"

Rosalie rolled her eyes at my sister and smiled. "Sure thing, short stuff. Should we ask for someone in particular to help us?"

"Yeah, ask for Betty. She's one of Bella's nurses. Thanks, guys," I said gratefully, watching as they turned and walked down the corridor towards the nurse's station while I started dialling Bella's parents _finally _carrying out Bella's request.

Rene answered on the second ring. "Hello?" I was greeted with another groggy voice. Boston and Toronto were both three hours ahead, which meant that I was waking Rene and Charlie up as well. I sighed.

"Rene, this is Edward."

"Edward, how are you? Is everything alright? How is Bella?"

I spent the next few minutes relating the abbreviated version of the evening's events to Bella's mother, taking care to assure her that everyone was fine and James was gone. She was excited that the baby was coming sooner than we had expected. When I mentioned that she and Charlie could visit us now that James was out of the picture, she was worried at first, but the worry melted away quickly, revealing to me her elation at the idea.

"You think it's safe? Really?"

"Absolutely. There is no threat to Bella's safety anymore. I haven't told her that I've suggested this to you because I think this would be an amazing surprise for her, don't you think?"

"Yes! Oh God, I can't wait to tell Charlie! Wait, where are you?"

I laughed softly at my forgetfulness. "Sorry, Rene. We're in a town called Forks, in Washington state. A few hours south of Seattle."

Rene blew a breath out before replying. "Wow, from one side of the States to the other, huh?"

"The further away from James, the better, right?"

"Exactly. Though…" She stopped herself mid-thought. I had a feeling I knew what she was going to say, so I interjected.

"I know...the distance between them didn't stop him from finding her. Once we knew he was in town, my brother and I did everything we—"

"Shh. You don't have to explain Edward. There's no need. You kept my baby safe—you and your whole family. You have no idea how grateful Charlie and I are to you all. You'll only understand when you are a father…in about twenty-four hours or so," Rene said with a touch of mirth in her voice.

"God, I hope it doesn't take that long. Bella is already exhausted from everything that's happened tonight."

"My labour with Bella lasted about thirty hours in total, so if she's anything like me…"

I made an unhappy noise that made Rene giggle then sigh at the thought of her daughter. "Don't worry, Edward. She's strong. I can't wait to finally meet you and see my daughter and grandson."

"Neither can I. How soon do you think you can be here?"

"Charlie and I will have to check, but I'm sure we can be there by this time next week. Charlie barely took two weeks off after the fire, though they offered him a month and a half. And I haven't used any vacation time yet this year."

"That's great. Listen, take down these numbers. Our house, and my cell phone. Call whenever you want." I recited our phone numbers to her and she eagerly took them down, confirming that she had written them down correctly. "Listen, I have to get back in there, but I'll call you when the baby is born and things settle down here."

"Alright, Edward. Thank you so much for calling me," Rene replied, sounding emotional. "This was the best phone call I think I've ever received…well, except when my daughter called me for the first time after her…uh…death. Give her a hug from me and tell her Charlie and I love her and miss her so much."

"I will."

"We'll see you all very soon!"

When I disconnected the call, I tucked the phone in my pocket and walked over towards the nurse's station where Rosalie and Alice were standing, talking to the nurses. Betty was nowhere to be found.

"They're taking Bella to room 512 in the maternity ward. Betty is with her now," Alice said with a proud smirk. "No slaps required."

"Glad to hear it. Thanks, you two. I'm going up there now."

"Emmett's on his way. We'll go up when he gets here," Rosalie replied with a wave. I nodded and sprinted toward the elevators.

At the sound of the door to Bella's room opening, two pairs of eyes found me. Bella's lit up when she saw me entering the room, and I was sure that my smile matched hers easily. I came up beside her and kissed her forehead in greeting, then took her hand in mine and asked how things were progressing with her contractions. The doctor informed me that her contractions were starting to grow closer and closer together, and she was more dilated than they had first suspected, so the anaesthesiologist would have to be called soon.

Everything began to move quickly after that.

Even with my medical knowledge, I was so worried about Bella. Sure, we had been preparing for the birth of our son for months, but nothing _really _could have prepared us. We could read all the books we wanted to, we could hear all the stories we could, we could watch all the episodes of 'A Baby Story' we could stomach, but when it came down to it, our experience would never be exactly the same as any other couples'. This day, this moment when our son would enter the world, would always be special, different, and unique from any other moment that came before it.

Bella contained her screams of pain as much as she possibly could, showing me how strong she was, but those screams that did manage to escape her lips came out as tortured moans - they were horrendous to hear, and broke my heart at the amount of pain they held within them. The anaesthesiologist's visit was a godsend and helped her contractions, but still wasn't enough to numb her completely. Though she was in a world of pain from the gunshot and her broken wrist, she fought through it all and bared the pain with courage.

I had never been more proud to call Bella my fiancée than the moments leading up to our son's birth.

In the early hours of Monday, June 21, 2010, Nathaniel Charles Cullen came into the world kicking and screaming; when our son let out his first cries, I knew that my life was forever changed just by hearing that sweet sound.

"He's beautiful, Dr. Cullen!" the delivering doctor exclaimed as he handed the tiny newborn to a nurse to clean him of the blood and mucus covering his quivering form. Words failed to have any meaning in my mind in that moment. I couldn't think straight; I just stared at the baby in the nurse's arms, unable to fathom that he was my son—our son. I was in such a state of shock and amazement that only Bella's gentle tugging on my hand in hers brought me back to the reality of the moment. I looked down at her beautiful eyes, which were wet with tears, and studied her face briefly before she spoke.

"I did it," she stated quietly, her voice heavy with emotion and pride, but also with weariness.

I leaned in and kissed her lips. "You did, Bella. I'm so proud of you. You are the strongest woman I know."

She gave me a small, tired smile in response, her eyelids fluttering with exhaustion. The nurse returned with our little boy, swaddled in a light blue receiving blanket and wearing a ridiculously tiny knitted hat that fit perfectly on his head. She placed him gently in Bella's arms and congratulated us before leaving us alone with him. I pulled a chair up from against the wall and sunk into it, my eyes never leaving my son's angelic face. I leaned over to get a better look at him and ran the back of one of my fingers against his pink cheek. I suddenly felt a rush of gratitude and love for Bella; it was so strong that I felt as if I would burst. I gazed up at her face; the telltale signs of her fatigue were present under her eyes, but it seemed as if she had been revitalized when the nurse had placed Nathaniel in her arms. Despite most of her hair having come loose from her pony tail, her complexion being paler than normal, and bruises forming from the events of the evening, to me she was the most beautiful woman on the planet just then; and when she looked at our son, all those cares seemed to fade away as she the new life in her arms brought her new happiness and peace of mind. The smile she wore as she cooed to him brightened up her face and made her glow.

"I love you so much, sweetheart. Thank you for giving me this gift," I murmured passionately, a tear escaping from my eye. "He's absolutely beautiful."

"So he must take after you, Edward," she replied with a smirk. I shook my head and took in the sight before me. Bella looked up from Nathaniel's face and smiled at me. "Take him, babe," she offered. I nodded silently as I met her halfway and took our son into my arms. I had held babies before, but never this young. The fact that he was mine just added to my awe. He barely weighed anything, and didn't squirm because he was well swaddled, but something about holding him terrified me until Bella spoke up.

"Edward, he's not going to break. You're his dad; soon, it'll be second nature."

"He's just…" I tried to put together some substantial words together, but my emotions were obscuring my verbosity. There was no way to express the myriad of emotions I was feeling as I stared at Nathaniel. Love, joy, amazement, wonder, hope… most of all, it seemed, I was grateful—grateful that Bella was safe and healthy, that Nathaniel was here with us, that James would no longer keep us looking over our shoulders in fear, that my parents were on the way to visit us and meet their first grandchild…the list went on and on. In fact, as my list continued in my head, I felt another tear prickling the corner of my eye which slowly trickled down my cheek. Bella must have noticed the tear, because she put a hand on my forearm and said, "I know, babe. I know. It's so incredible."

I composed myself and looked at the love of my life who was lying in the bed before me. "Love, you and Nathaniel are my life. I promise that I will protect you two until my dying breath."

Bella gave me a watery smile and said, "I know, Edward. We love you so much." She leaned over a bit more and moved to wrap us in a hug, but with her injuries, it would have been next to impossible, so knowing she was still quite sore, I scooted as close to her as I could without crushing our son between us.

We stayed that way, leaning against each other, in our little family bubble, for an undetermined amount of time until the nurse returned to help Bella nurse the baby for the first time.

After spending some time with nurse Betty, learning how to feed and swaddle Nathaniel, Bella was allowed visitors later that afternoon, and my family wasted no time excitedly piling into the room and happily congratulating us, their arms full of bouquets of flowers and Mylar balloons. Within moments, the boring room had turned into a vibrant, colourful place. Nurse Betty's shift was over, so her replacement came in with Nathaniel when everyone was settling in, finding seats and spots on the bed beside Bella to sit. His arrival hushed everyone immediately, their eyes glued to the plastic bassinet he was being brought in. The nurse smiled at everyone and said, "It's quite a family you have here, Dr. Cullen."

"We know," I said with a smile. As she left, I reached down and lifted my son from the bassinet slowly and pulled him into my arms securely. I faintly heard Alice giggle and Rosalie sigh briefly before Emmett laughed.

"Wow," he said simply.

"I know." My ability to formulate an intelligent sentence still hadn't returned at that point. I was overwhelmed by the reality of the situation; there we were, huddled around my soon-to-be-wife and gazing at our newborn son in awe and wonder, not to mention the fact that Bella's abusive husband was dead and gone, and would never hurt her again. "You want to hold him, Em?"

"Uh…" he hesitated. "I don't think so, man. What if I drop him?" A series of chuckles filled the room, but Emmett had been completely serious. Bella was the one to encourage him further.

"We have total faith in your uncle's skills. You have to start sometime, why not now?" she urged.

Emmett looked sceptical, but when I placed Nathaniel in his arms, I could see the tension leave his body. "Cool," he said quietly, his eyes glued to the little face before him. Rosalie lay her hand on his back and peered at Nathaniel over his shoulder, wearing a smile brighter than I had ever seen before on her.

"See, Emmett?" she said, nudging him slightly. "You're a pro."

"He's just a gem," Alice said from her spot sitting beside Bella on the bed. "You two make some good looking kids."

"Who makes good looking kids?" a familiar voice asked as the door to the room opened. We all turned to see our parents entering the room with a bouquet of flowers in each of their hands. It looked as if they had driven straight from the airport to the hospital because they had a tired look to them. That, and Mom's normally styled hair was flat and lifeless, as if she had been sleeping on it.

Alice squealed as quietly as possible given where we were, and clapped her hands. "Mom! Dad!"

Hugs were exchanged, but the biggest hug of all came between my mother and Bella. Bella sat up as far as she comfortably could and outstretched her hands, awaiting my mother's gentle touch. As they embraced, the hushed words they were saying to each other were barely audible to the rest of us. I heard 'I'm so proud of you' from my mother a few times, as well as 'I missed you' from Bella more than once. Dad came to me and gave me a strong hug followed by a few pats on the back.

"Congratulations, son." I could tell it wouldn't be long before my father had tears in his eyes as well. It had been such an emotional day for everyone that I couldn't blame anyone for letting some tears fall.

"Thanks, Dad." My voice broke and I saw my mother take Nathaniel from Emmett's arms and coo him sweetly. Dad went straight to her side and put an arm around her shoulders.

"Our first grandchild, Esme," he stated happily, looking up at me. "Bella, Edward, he is perfect."

We agreed; to Bella and I, truer words had never been spoken.

Bella was released from the hospital three days later after being under observation for her gunshot wound. Nathaniel came home with us that day as well.

My parents stayed with us and helped us with the transition into feedings and diapers. It was a difficult transition to make, but without them, we would have been absolutely lost. Their help was just what we needed to keep our sanity those first few days. I had taken a week off from the hospital to help take care of Nathaniel, and in actuality, to help care for Bella, too. She had a cast on her arm and a sling to prevent movement due to the gunshot. Despite her injuries and soreness from giving birth, she was content and happy. She hardly complained about pain or discomfort. Thankfully, she knew that there were things she couldn't do just yet by herself, and made sure to ask for help when she needed it. My mother helped Bella bathe when I wasn't around while my dad kept Nathaniel company.

Five days after Nathaniel's birth, the doorbell rang. It was the middle of the day, and Dad was holding Nathaniel while Bella was taking a nap. I was helping Mom cook lunch and ran to the door. We hadn't been expecting anyone, so I opened the door slowly. Before me stood a middle-aged couple I had never seen before, but something familiar about the man's smile and the shape of the woman's eyes told me they were Bella's parents beyond a shadow of a doubt. My jaw dropped.

"Hi, uh, Edward?" the man said. I nodded and smiled, the realization setting in.

Renee didn't say a thing, only stepped forward and pulled me into a hug. "Come in," I said, stepping away from the door to allow them in. Charlie shook my hand and smiled as he walked into the house.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Edward."

"You too, sir."

Charlie shook his head. "There'll be none of that. It's Charlie, son."

"And Renee," she called as she put down her bags and took off her shoes.

"Edward, who's at the door?" my mother called from the kitchen.

"Bella's parents," I called back. Within a moment, my mother and father both walked into the foyer.

When both sets of parents laid eyes on one another, there was a pause before they all started murmuring happily, introducing themselves and hugging or shaking hands.

"Where's my baby girl?" Renee asked, turning to face me.

"She's taking a nap while Nathaniel is sleeping. Let me go wake her up for you."

"No, no," Renee replied. "She needs her sleep. I think we can wait a few more hours to surprise her, right, Charlie?" He nodded in response and rolled his shoulders.

"Let's get some coffee and tea on. Lunch will be ready soon. You must be exhausted from your flight!" Mom said excitedly, putting an arm around Renee's shoulders and walking with her to the kitchen. She had evidently decided to take it upon herself to play the hostess, a job I didn't mind giving up at the moment. Dad, Charlie, and I remained in the foyer.

"Can I take your bags to your room, Charlie?" Dad asked him, and then turned to me. "They_ are _staying here, right?"

"Absolutely. We have the space."

Charlie looked around the foyer briefly; I assumed he was taking a look at the house that was now his daughter's. His eyes suddenly grew wistful. He smiled at Dad and me and said, "Thank you so much, Edward…for everything you've done for us, for her," quietly. I nodded, understanding the sentiment behind his words, and smiled.

"I would have done it all again," I assured him.

Dad and Charlie took the bags up to the other guest bedroom and chatted a bit about how long the house had been in our family. Our voices must have travelled next door, because a moment later, I heard the door to our bedroom open and Bella gasping behind us.

"Daddy?" The three of us turned around and watched as Bella, dressed in her nightgown and robe, padded toward her father and give him as big a hug as she could with her sling and cast in the way. Charlie didn't make a sound as he held his daughter for the first time in over three years. He just kept rocking her back and forth. I heard the distinct sound of a sniffle come from her father as they hugged. I made eye contact with Dad and motioned for us to leave the two of them alone while they reconnected. He understood and stepped past them and accompanied me down the stairs. We reached the kitchen where the ladies were pouring some coffees for themselves. Mom and Renee looked up at us quizzically.

"Bella is awake," was all I mentioned before Renee went flying up the stairs. Mom beamed at me and put a teaspoon of sugar in her coffee. As she stirred her coffee, Dad set out to prepare his own when we heard crying coming from upstairs that wasn't Nathaniel's. The reunion was emotional to say the least. After my parents were seated at the kitchen table, I went to the baby monitor and turned up the volume to make sure we could hear him if he needed us. I was about to grab myself a drink when voices came on the monitor. We were silent as we listened to Renee, Charlie, and Bella talking about Nathaniel.

"Here he is," Bella said quietly.

"What an angel," Charlie said, the full pride of a grandparent easily coming through the monitor.

"He's breathtaking. God, Bella, so much has changed since the last time we saw you," Renee said, emotion making her voice break a few times.

"All good things, though, Mom. I'm so happy."

"We can see that, hun." Her father's voice was a little further from the monitor than the others. "Edward is a good guy."

"He's the best thing that ever happened to me. Well, him and his whole family. I will spend the rest of my life thanking God that He brought them into my life."

"Us, too, Bella."

Just then, Nathaniel began to fuss and Bella sounded like she was picking him up. "Hi, sweet boy," she murmured quietly. "You hungry? Let's get you something to eat."

While Bella was breastfeeding Nathaniel in the nursery, her parents returned to the kitchen, holding hands and wearing matching grins. No words needed to be spoken; the love and peace radiating off of each of them was tangible and filled the entire room with a kind of joy that I hadn't even imagined was possible. Nathaniel did that; he and Bella were the epitome of pure joy and our families were reaping the benefits of just being in their presence. I felt so grateful for that feeling at that moment that I felt my eyes getting watery. I sniffled and wiped a stray tear that fell and my dad noticed instantly. He rose from his seat and patted me on the shoulder.

"Children will make you feel like that, son. Get used to it," he said gently. I heard matching chuckles from the others in the room and smiled embarrassedly.

"I'm beginning to." I cleared my throat and straightened up slightly. "I'm going to go check on Bella."

As I walked up the stairs, I went over all the events over the past year that had brought the people in this house together, and had made me feel like the luckiest man on the planet. What a difference a year made. Back then, I was lonely, nearly too focused on my job, and living by myself in this house built for a family with only Bolt for company. Now things were almost the exact opposite of that; Bella and I were getting married, we had a precious and healthy son safely upstairs, and the house was filled with our loving parents.

As I reached the nursery, I paused at the door to stand and watch Bella feeding Nathaniel as she swayed back and forth slowly on the rocking chair.

"I can feel you watching us, Edward," Bella mused, her eyes never leaving our son's face. I stepped forward and smiled at her, crouching down to her eye level.

"Sorry, couldn't help it. Just staring at my family." She looked up then, and I could swear that she finally looked at peace, calm. Sure, she was tired and probably sleep deprived, despite our best efforts to the contrary, but she was happy.

"Hmm," she sighed non-committally.

"I love you, Bella. I hope you know that."

She smiled at me and looked down again at our son who was almost done feeding. "I think the best proof of that is resting in my arms." She laughed softly. "I love you, too. And you, too, Nate," she added, bending slightly to kiss his forehead.

She finished up with Nathaniel and burped him slowly. After, she asked me to take him so that she could dress for the day of catching up with her parents she was sure was to come. I gladly took him from her as she left for our bedroom. Admittedly, holding him was still scary because of how small he was, but I knew that the more I did it, and the bigger he got, the better I would get at it.

I gazed at his face, seeing how his eyes would open and he'd look around every so often, though I knew he probably wasn't seeing anything yet.

"Hey, Nathaniel," I murmured softly to him. "You and your mom are the best things to ever happen to me. Love you, little guy."

And at that moment, I, too, was truly content and at peace.

* * *

A/N: And that's it! Let me know if you would like to see an epilogue...I'll do it for you guys! :)


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